Tips, tricks and Halloween how-to’s

I love a good Halloween recipe as much as anyone, and there are plenty of great recipe ideas out there that are both spooky and sweet – perfect for the holiday. But there are lots of behind-the-scenes tips that can help make your Halloween celebrations go a lot more smoothly and even add a bit of extra flair to your tricks and treats. Here is a list of helpful how-to’s that should really get the holiday prep off to a good start.

• If you’re going to try making Vampire Cupcakes or Slime-Filled Cupcakes this year, take a look at the how to make a filled cupcake tutorial, which will streamline the process and ensure that you have as much filling in there as possible to give the cupcakes a nice, juicy center.
• Caramel apples are another good seasonal treat. Starting out with the best apples for making caramel apples will make the treats perfect. Sweet-tart apples are usually the best choice. Pippins and Jonagolds are both well balanced. Opt for Granny Smith if you like them really tart.
• Chocolate-Covered Witch Hats are easy to make and make a great addition to edible Halloween displays. Use them to top off cupcakes, cakes or even just a simple scoop of ice cream.
• Carving pumpkins is one of the key elements of Halloween. Pumpkins can have a foodie aspect to them, as well as a frightening one, like this Creepy Cupcake Pumpkin, which features a skeleton hand clutching a glowing cupcake!
• After carving your pumpkin, put the seeds to good use and make some homemade toasted pumpkin seeds
• You can also make your own pumpkin puree for baking pies and cupcakes, but I would recommend using a sugar pumpkin or other small winter squash, as the larger carving pumpkins tend to be quite fibrous.
• If you want to go all out for the occasion, consider staging a Scary Halloween Dinner party. A little bit of gelatin, some creative naming and a good use of textures results in a menu that includes Chilled Brain Spread and Eyes in Blood Sauce. They look ghoulish, but taste great, and you get to play with your food while you prepare everything!