28 Halloween Treats That Are Easy, Fun and Deliciously Spooky
Updated: Feb. 13, 2024
Boo! Whether you're hosting a terrifying masquerade ball or a not-too-scary kids' party, these tasty Halloween treats will delight ghosts and goblins of all ages.
On the creepiest night of the year, plain frosted cupcakes just won’t do. We want our Halloween treats adorned with candy corn, pumpkins and lots of wiggly eyes. These fun recipes (ranging from easy to somewhat difficult) will dazzle your Halloween party guests. Get your creativity flowing for everything from cake eyeballs to witches’ fingers to edible arachnids. (Looking for savory Halloween recipe ideas? We’ve got those, too!)
Halloween Peanut Butter Cookie Pops
Surprise! There’s a miniature candy bar hidden inside each one of these adorable treats. For even more fun, bake the cookie pops, then let your party guests decorate their own creations with candy corn, mini chocolate candies and sugar eyeballs.
Cake Eyeballs
Is someone watching us? This deceptively simple dessert comes together in a flash thanks to store-bought cake mix, colored candy melts and your choice of confectionery decorations.
Witches’ Fingers
There’s no double boiler (or even a stove) needed for this easy, 3-ingredient recipe. Just melt candy coating discs in the microwave, dip pretzel rods into the melted candy and add jelly bean fingernails for maximum spookiness.
Halloween Sugar Cookies
No ghost or cat cookie cutters in your kitchen? No problem. Cut triangle shapes for candy corn, circles for spiderwebs and squares for Frankenstein’s head. Any leftover cookies will last up to a week in the freezer.
Brainy Cake
Don’t worry, the secret ingredient in this rich, moist cake isn’t real brains. It’s actually mayonnaise, which adds a depth of flavor and texture that will wow your Halloween guests.
Martian Marshmallows
What’s about a million times more fun than a lollipop? A martian marshmallow, complete with a dusting of colored sugar, candy eyes and sugar straw antennae. Best of all, they only take half an hour to whip up.
Halloween Chocolate Cookie Pops
There’s a trick to this treat. To get the lollipop sticks centered inside the cookie, roll the dough into a ball, press a stick into the center, then flatten the ball into a cookie shape with the bottom of a sugar-dipped glass.
Halloween Peanut Spider Cookies
Party guests will think you spent all day handcrafting these creepy crawly creations. But with about half an hour and seven ingredients, you can bring two dozen of these tasty spiders to life.
Bones & Blood
There’s nothing humerus (pun intended!) about these spooky, skeletal cookies. Strawberry jelly and melted chocolate chips make for a frighteningly tasty dipping sauce.
Marshmallow Ghosts
These marshmallow ghosts are more cute than creepy. And with only two steps and three ingredients, even kids could make them (with your help, of course). Just melt candy coating discs in the microwave, stir in some marshmallows, drop the mixture in clumps on waxed paper and decorate with candy eyes.
Mini Pretzel Pumpkins
Is there anything better than the sweet-and-salty combo of candy-coated pretzels? Yes: Candy-coated pretzels that also happen to look like adorable mini pumpkins. These four-ingredient cuties don’t take long to make, but there is a little set time for the candy coating.
Ghostly Custards
Canned pumpkin, eggs, evaporated milk and pumpkin pie seasonings come together to make an easy and festive Halloween treat, complete with a ghost made of store-bought whipped topping. (But if you’re an overachiever, you could try making whipped cream from scratch.)
Halloween Candy Bark
With Oreos, pretzels, M&M’s, peanuts, candy corn and Reese’s Pieces, this candy bark recipe is guaranteed to be a Halloween hit. But you might want to make a double batch. Once you set it on the snack table, it will vanish without a trace.
Freaky Frankenstein Cookies
Save the plain sugar cookies for Christmas. These monster-approved sweets are made with peppermint and vanilla extract, plus a secret ingredient: Andes mint candies.
Fun Caramel Apples
Expert tip: Start with room-temperature apples, because caramel tends to slip off when the skin is cold. Dipping caramel apples is a breeze with store-bought caramels, but our readers recommend making caramel from scratch if you have time.
Spooky Gelatin Bubble Cupcakes
Your guests will never guess how you created these delightful alien cupcake toppers. Want to know the trick? Inflate a water balloon, dip it in a gelatin mixture, then allow it to harden before popping the balloon.
Candy Corn Ice Cream Sandwiches
We all scream for these festive ice cream sandwiches, which feature orange sherbet sandwiched between homemade candy-corn sugar cookies. Time-saving tip: Shape the dough and store it in the fridge, then slice and bake the cookies whenever you’re ready. Then, you can assemble the sandwiches and store them in the freezer until it’s time to serve them.
Gingerbread Skeletons
Why does Christmas get to have all the gingerbread fun? Use icing to outline the skeleton of cats and bats…or use traditional gingerbread men cookie cutters for a fun Halloween twist on the old classic.
Chocolate Candy Corn Cupcakes
Love it or hate it, candy corn is a Halloween must-have. And while these cupcakes look like they were made by a professional bakery, you can whip up a batch in under an hour with only eight ingredients. Not a fan of whipped topping? Try our buttercream frosting instead.
Jack Skellington Pops
The best character from the best Halloween movie possibly ever just became our new favorite dessert. To keep the candy coating from smudging, dry the pops upright by poking their sticks into a block of styrofoam.
Sugar Ghost Cupcakes
If you’ve never worked with fondant, the prospect might feel daunting. But if you start with these practically foolproof cupcake toppers instead of an entire cake, you might discover it’s easier than you expected. Make things even simpler by using store-bought cake mix and frosting.
Wiggly Pumpkins
No-bake desserts are our favorite desserts. Thanks to gelatin and pudding mix, these wiggly, jiggly treats couldn’t be more simple to make. Just whisk together the ingredients, pour into a pan and refrigerate to set. Then, cut into shapes and decorate.
Gourmet Caramel Apples
There’s no better combination than apples and caramel. Well, except apples and caramel and peanut butter and pretzels. Oh, and chocolate… Did we mention the chocolate?
Ghostly Cupcake Cones
It doesn’t get much easier than this: you can bake the peanut-butter cupcakes right inside the cones. Opt for 3-inch cake cones with a flat bottom (as opposed to a pointed one) so they’ll fit snugly inside a cupcake tin.
Eyes On You
No fondant necessary! These spooky monster eyes are marshmallows decorated with frosting blobs and M&M’s minis. For extra precision, use tweezers to place the candy right where you want it.
Edible Arachnids
You don’t need a custom spider mold to make these sweet creepy crawlies. They’re actually chocolate-covered cake balls and pretzel sticks. To keep the texture of the melted chocolate smooth, dry all mixing bowls and tools completely before you begin.
Halloween Witch Cake
Ready for the All Hallows’ Eve showstopper? While this cake requires some experience (and a bit of artistic ability—the witch hats are drawn freehand with melted candy coating and a piping bag), your guests will be wondering if you hired a professional baker to cater the party. Don’t have a piping bag? A Ziploc bag works too.
Eyeball Cookies
Have half an hour and a microwave? Then you can make these delightfully creepy eyeball cookies, which are actually store-bought vanilla wafers in disguise. To create a bloodshot look, add veins with red food coloring and a toothpick.
Originally Published: August 23, 2018
