Photos: Ideas for spooky Halloween treats and desserts

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Photos: Ideas for spooky Halloween treats and desserts

Hosting a Halloween party? Treats and desserts don't have to be boring. Put a twist on your recipes with these creepy ideas.

Meatball Mummy Crescent Bites. (Photo courtesy Pillsbury/TNS)

Boo-nana Ghosts. (Photo courtesy Real Mom Nutrition/TNS)

Pillsbury Crescent Mummy Dogs. (Photo courtesy Pillsbury/TNS)

Sorcerer's Apprentice Broom Snacks. (Photo courtesy Instructables/TNS)

Pumpkin Cuties. (Photo courtesy Super Moms 360/TNS)

Spider Deviled Eggs. (Photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma/TNS)

Happy Cheddar Cheese Treats. (Photo courtesy Canadian Family/TNS)

Spooky Mandarin Oranges. (Photo courtesy Becoming a Bentoholic/TNS)

Spooky Spider Snack. (Photo courtesy Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons/TNS)

For graveyard cupcakes, frost the cakes with rich chocolate ganache and decorate with cookie "tombstones," colored coconut and bone-shaped candies. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Cut pre-made breadstick dough into finger lengths. Place the fingers on a baking sheet, pinching the dough together in places to form knuckles. Top with egg wash and sliced almonds to make the finger nails. Serve alongside a pesto or marinara dipping sauce. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Mix together cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar to form these simple mints, flavored with a touch of lemon juice and peppermint extract. Tint the dough if desired with food coloring, then chill until firm before forming into worms and assorted bugs. A great project for the little ones. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Peel the skin from an orange and top each slice with melted chocolate (either melted chocolate chips or, if using white chocolate, look for white "melting" chocolate). Form the eyes with candy decorations or melted chocolate. Bananas can easily be substituted for the orange slices. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Make a stiff meringue, then pipe into whatever shape you desire -- bones are a perfectly crunchy choice for Halloween. Pipe them and then give them plenty of time to dry in a warm oven before decorating with red food gel or strawberry jam "blood." (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Instead of homemade gingerbread, simplify things using packaged graham crackers. Use a serrated knife to cut them into desired shapes and mold the house using royal icing. Give it plenty of time to dry before decorating; keep in mind that graham crackers are more fragile than gingerbread. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

A good project for older kids, marshmallows are simple to make but require precision to get the sugar to the right temperature. Once the marshmallow is ready, it's practically screaming to be piped into chewy eyeballs. Use black food coloring for the center, and decorate with red food gel. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

This traditional Dia de los Muertos cake is partly shaped like bones and a skull and is a perfect project for older kids fascinated with baking. Rich and buttery, the flavor is to die for. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Nothing more than a combination of crisped rice cereal tossed with melted marshmallows and butter, roll the warm mixture out and cut shapes using cookie cutters, or mold the treats into three-dimensional goodies to be decorated however you wish. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Saucy pumpkin cocktail, for the adults. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Instead of pouring round pancakes, whip up pumpkin-shaped oval cakes with a little extra batter at the top to form the stem. Use fruit, chocolate or nuts to give each pumpkin-shaped cake a cute -- or frightful -- face. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Arrange pretzel sticks in a pattern similar to the spokes on a wheel, then decorate with melted chocolate and Halloween candies. A great project for the little kids. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Have the kids help unwrap the candies and dip the apples in the caramel, before decorating with an assortment of candies, nuts or dried fruit. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Carve simple jack-o'-lantern faces into apples, oranges and more before packing the fruit in lunch bags or serving as snacks. If you're carving ahead of time, dab the carved areas with a little lemon juice to prevent the fruit from browning. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

These tasty "Witches' Brew" chicken burritos are wrapped in green tortillas and are ample fortification before an evening of trick-or-treating. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Spread out your guacamole in a large shallow bowl, using cut olives, peppers, onions, cilantro and more to create bugs and other ghoulish decorations. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

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Meatball Mummy Crescent Bites. (Photo courtesy Pillsbury/TNS)

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