5 Easy Halloween Treats to Make with Kids

Fall is just around the corner and you know what that means. . .holidays! In this post I’m going to offer five of my favorite recipes to share with the children in your life during the Halloween season. These are simple enough to involve the kiddos but yummy enough to impress your guests.

I have deliberately left out the quantities for some of these projects because only you will know how many you’ll want to make. But the basic instructions and ingredients are all laid out.

That said, here are my top five choices for Halloween treats! They’re perfect for a Halloween party or fall school event. Making them with the little ones in your life will be the perfect way to spend quality time together.

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1. Easy Oreo Cookie Spiders

This is a simple treat that doesn’t require any baking at all. I think they’re adorable, don’t you? Here’s what you’ll need to make these spider cookies:

• Double-stuffed Oreo Cookies
• Pretzel twists (or black licorice strings)
• candy eyes
• Dreamy buttercream (or a can of buttercream frosting)

How to Make Easy Oreo Spiders:

Place buttercream into a small piping bag and cut off the tip. Prep the pretzels by cutting into pieces. You’ll need the rounded pieces for spider’s legs. Separate the cookies into two halves. Press the pretzel legs into place.

Put the cookies back together. If you’re not using double-stuffed (recommended) you’ll need to add a bit of buttercream to hold them together. (I was using hazelnut Oreos, not double stuffed, so I needed the icing.)

Now it’s time to add the eyes. You’ll need to start with a couple dabs of frosting. Now set the eyes in place.

That’s it! You’ve got an Oreo spider! This is such an easy Halloween snack! Now make as many as you like and serve them on a fun fall tray!

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2. Chocolate Covered Oreo Pumpkins

These luscious pumpkins start with Oreos but they’re stuffed with something just as sweet and delicious. . .Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

• Oreos
• Reese’s peanut butter cups (regular size)
• almond bark (vanilla/white)
• coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
• orange oil-based coloring gel (to color almond bark)
• Hershey’s kisses
• Cookie Mold (optional)

How to make Chocolate Covered Oreo Pumpkins

Start by melting your white chocolate. Put six cubes of almond bark into a heat safe bowl and add a heaping tablespoon of oil. Microwave in thirty second increments until fully melted. Stir until smooth. Add coloring gel to bring the chocolate to the color you prefer.

Prepare your Oreos. Separate them into halves. Open the Reese’s peanut butter cups. Using the chocolate as glue stick the peanut butter cups into the cookies.

Fasten the cookies back together using the chocolate as glue.

You can make the cookies in a cookie mold (as I did) but I honestly think they would be simpler if you hand-dipped them. Doesn’t this melted chocolate look delectable?

Once the chocolate dries, drizzle more chocolate on each side. Adhere a Hershey’s Kiss to the top. Voila! Pumpkins!

3. Easy Bundt Cake Pumpkins

I did a full post on these fun treats, so feel free to refer to the details on that page. Here’s what you’ll need for this delicious Halloween recipe.

FOR THE CAKE:

• White cake mix
• Orange juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large room temperature eggs

FOR THE FROSTING/GLAZE:

• 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup Butter
• Orange Juice

YOU’LL ALSO NEED:

• 12 Hershey’s Kisses
• Mini bundt pan

How to Make Bundt Cake Pumpkins

Bake cake according to directions, substituting orange juice for water. Prepare mini bundt pan. Add batter. Bake until done. Remove from pan when cooled place on wire rack to continue cooling.

Make frosting by creaming butter and adding powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Use buttercream as glue to fasten together your pumpkin halves. Use it as glue to add the Hershey’s Kisses on top.

Thin your frosting with a bit of orange juice to glaze consistency. Add as a drip to the pumpkins.

Voila! Bundt cake pumpkins!

4. Halloween Mummy Cookies

These luscious peanut butter cookies make the perfect mummies. . .spooky Halloween treats! If you don’t want to make peanut butter, just use my cut-out sugar cookie recipe instead. Talk about the perfect Halloween treats!

FOR THE COOKIES:

• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 room temperature eggs
• 2 cups (16 oz) peanut butter (creamy)
• pinch salt (optional if you don’t use salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

FOR THE ICING:

• 1/2 butter
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE TOPPING:

• candy eyes (available on the Wilton aisle at your local WalMart or craft store)
• (Optional: You could use candy corn for eyes or nose)

How to Make Mummy Cookies

Cream your butter and shortening using a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add your sugars (granulated and brown) and continue to beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, along with the vanilla. Then add the peanut butter.

It’s time to add your flour and baking soda. Mix until incorporated. When your dough is ready, you’ll need to roll it out. Roll to about 1/4 – 1/3-inch thickness (or your preference). Cut into circles using a circle cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet and put into preheated oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 – 11 minutes or until done. Place cookie sheet on wire rack so that baked cookies can cool.

How to Make Icing

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Place in piping bag and zig-zag across finished cookies. These are so much fun to make!

Place eyes on cookies while the frosting is still tacky.

5. Halloween Sugar Cookies

If you’ve been following me for any length of time you know how much I love sugar cookies. They’re great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and every holiday in-between. They’re also a lot of fun on Halloween. They make the perfect treat! I think they’re ideal for Halloween parties and giveaways.

Here’s what you’ll need to make my Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (Halloween Cookies):

• 2 sticks (one cup) salted butter (room temperature)
• 1 extra-large egg (must be extra-large)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp clear vanilla
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Here’s what you’ll need to make my Easy Royal Icing:

• 3 tbl meringue powder
• 1/2 cup + 2 t/l water
• 1 tsp cream of tartar (omit this if you’re using Wilton’s meringue powder)
• 2 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp real almond extract
• One bag powdered sugar (7 – 8 cups)

How to Make Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Cream together the two sticks of butter. Add the sugars and egg, mixing well.

Next, add vanilla and almond extracts.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add in increments to the creamy mixture, fully combining.

Chill the dough, and then roll using one of the methods indicated above (roller with detachable rings or doubled paint sticks).

Bake at 375 for ten minutes or your preference. Don’t over-bake.

How to Make Easy Royal Icing

Put all items except powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Mix until frothy (less than a minute). Add full bag powdered sugar and mix until incorporated (a few seconds). Turn mixer on low and beat for five minutes non-stop until the icing is meringue-like in texture. Immediately cover with plastic wrap (touching the icing) and a damp towel above that.

Now it’s time to color your icing. Scoop out about a cup of the icing into a small bowl and add your coloring gel. (Note: Don’t use water-based food colorings, as they add liquid to the recipe.) Mix thoroughly. Add tiny drops of water until you get the colored icing to piping (toothpaste) consistency.
Scoop out half of it and put it into a piping bag with #2 tip. With the remaining icing in the bowl, add tiny bits of water (stirring non-stop by hand) until it reaches honey consistency. You know you’ve reached the right consistency when you can drag a knife through it and it takes about 10 seconds for the line to close up again.

You can either put this flood consistency icing in a piping bag with a #2 tip or a tipless bag. You can also use a food-safe craft bottle with tip, but be aware that flooding with the bottle method often leads to air bubbles in the icing.

Repeat the above process making different colors. Decorate your cookies in any designs you like! Here are a few of my favorites. (Check out the little ghouls!) And aren’t the spider webs cute?

That’s it for this post! I hope you enjoy these fun Halloween treats. These are all easy Halloween desserts and I had such a blast making them! I know you will, too.

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.