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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.

There’s no need for a lab like Frankenstein’s when you can easily make these tricks and treats in your own kitchen. Brew yourself a batch of these seasonal snacks — trust me, they taste much better than they appear!

Ghost Pizza Bagels

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 slices mozzarella
  • 8 mini bagels
  • 1/2 c. marinara
  • 4 black olives

DIRECTIONS (watch video here!)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut mozzarella slices into ghost shapes using a paring knife.
  2. Spread a thin layer of marinara over pizza bagel and top with ghost.
  3. Bake until cheese is melted, 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, cut olives into little pieces for eyes. Dot the ghosts and serve.

Mummy Brie

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 round brie
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp. milk
  • 2 mini pepperoni
  • 2 sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS (watch video here!)

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. On a floured work surface, unroll puff pastry and cut into 1” strips. Wrap strips around brie like a mummy.
  2. Whisk together egg and milk and brush over pastry. Transfer brie to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  3. Bake until brie is warmed through and gooey and puff pastry is deeply golden, 20 minutes.
  4. For eyes, place two mini pepperonis into two sliced olives. Serve with crackers.

Pumpkin Deviled Eggs

INGREDIENTS

  • 12 large eggs
  • 1/2 c. mayonnaise
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 1/2 tsp. 
  • Dijon mustard
  • kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp. paprika
  • 4 chives, cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS 

  1. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and add enough water to cover eggs with 2″ of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, covered, 1 minute. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 14 minutes, then rinse under cold water.
  2. Crack shells and carefully peel under cool running water.
  3. Halve eggs lengthwise. Spoon out yolks into a small bowl and place whites on a serving platter. Using a fork, mash yolks, then stir in mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Dijon and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Spoon mixture evenly among egg whites and smooth top.
  5. Carefully dust paprika all over yolk mixture, completely covering yolk. Use a sharp paring knife to make ridges down the paprika-dusted yolk to look like a pumpkin.
  6. Place chive above egg mixture to look like a stem and serve.

Halloweeño Jalapeño Popper Mummies

INGREDIENTS

  • 10 jalapeño peppers, sliced in half lengthwise and pith/ seeds removed (use rubber gloves so your hands don’t burn from the jalapeño). Leave the stem if you can on some or all of the halves.
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 8 ounces jack cheese, shredded
  • 1 scallion (green onion), finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 package refrigerated crescent rolls (I use Pillsbury)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • candy eyeballs (can be purchased at Michael’s or on Amazon, or you can always use a little cream cheese and pieces of black olives for the eyes)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven 400° F. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, jack cheese, scallion and salt until well blended.
  2. Roll out the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles (not triangles) with a perforation in the middle of each. Press your fingers into the perforations to seal them. Using a pizza cutter, cut each rectangle into 10 long pieces lengthwise.
  3. Fill each jalepeño half with the cheese mixture. Wrap each jalapeño half with the dough, leaving a space for the eyes. Use two pieces of dough if necessary. Brush with egg mixture and place on baking sheet.
  4. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and press the eyes into the cheese where the opening is. Remove eyes before eating. You may also use a little cream cheese and a piece of black olive for the eyes. Serve immediately.

Dracula Dentures

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tube chocolate chip cookie dough
  • 1 can vanilla frosting
  • red food coloring
  • mini marshmallows
  • slivered almonds

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll cookie dough into 1 ½” balls and place on baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely then cut in half.
  2. Add a few drops of red food coloring into vanilla frosting and stir until smooth. Spread a thin layer of red frosting onto each cookie half.
  3. Place mini marshmallows around the round edges of half of the halves. Place the remaining halves on top, then stick a slivered almond on each side to create fangs.

Mini Jack-o’-Lantern Pies

INGREDIENTS

  • FOR THE PIE CRUST:
    • 2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
    • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
    • 2 tsp. granulated sugar
    • 12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
    • 6 tbsp. ice water
  • FOR THE PIE FILLING:
    • 1/3 c. brown sugar
    • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
    • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
    • 1 large egg yolk
    • 1/2 c. canned pumpkin
    • 3 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 tsp. water

DIRECTIONS

  1. Make pie crust: Add flour, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse in ten second bursts until mixture resembles wet sand with pea-size pieces, then drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse in 3 second bursts 4 to 5 times. Add more ice water until mixture starts to form around blade. Dump out pie crust and shape into 4″ disks; wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 45 minutes.
  2. Make filling: Combine brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg yolk, pumpkin, and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
  3. Assemble: Working with one disk at a time, roll out pie crust to 1/8″ thickness and stamp out pumpkin shapes. Transfer half the pumpkins to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and carve out desired faces on the other half.
  4. Brush edges of uncarved pumpkin faces with water, then spread 1 to 2 tablespoons filling in the center. Place carved pumpkin on top and press to seal edges with a fork. Transfer hand pies to freezer, 1 hour.
  5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°. Make egg wash by whisking egg with water, then brush hand pies with wash and bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Strawberry Ghosts

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 c. strawberries
  • 1 1/2 c. white chocolate, melted
  • 1 tsp. coconut oil
  • 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips
  • 1 c. chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS (watch video here!)

  1. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine melted white chocolate and coconut oil and stir until combined. Dip strawberries into white chocolate and place two mini chocolate chips on the top half of the strawberries for eyes. Place strawberries on prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to harden, about 10 minutes.
  3. Place melted chocolate chips in a ziploc bag and pipe mouths on the strawberries.
  4. Let cool again in the refrigerator, 5 minutes. Serve.

Spider Oreo Balls

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package (16 ounces) OREO Cookies divided
  • 1 package (8 ounces) full-fat cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 and 2/3rd cup chocolate chips I like milk chocolate best
  • 3-4 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • SPIDER DECORATIONS:
    • 96 Candy eyeballs
    • 1/3 cup brown sprinkles
    • Thin black licorice

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large blender or food processor, process the OREO’s until they resemble crumbs.

  2. Beat together the room temperature cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended.

  3. Shape the mixture into 48 (1-inch) balls and then freeze the balls for ten minutes.

  4. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and vegetable oil. (I like to separate the chocolate and do 2-3 batches so it stays nice and melted while dipping the cookie balls in) Microwave in bursts of 20 seconds stirring for 15 seconds in between each burst until the chocolate is fully melted.

  5. Dip the balls in the melted chocolate (add more vegetable oil to thin the chocolate if needed) and place on a tray lined with parchment paper.

  6. Before it dries, sprinkle the top of the balls with brown sprinkles and then press two candy eyes onto each ball.

  7. Cut the licorice with scissors and press into the cookie ball. Do this before the chocolate has a chance to harden. It’s helpful to insert two legs (one on each side) at a time to get leverage to press the legs fully in.

  8. Allow the chocolate to harden and dry.

Rice Krispie Treat Monsters

INGREDIENTS

  • FOR THE RICE KRISPIE TREATS:
  • ¼ cup Butter
  • 1 Bag Large Marshmallows (approximately 40 marshmallows)
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies
  • FOR THE MONSTER COATING
  • Candy Melts (Pink, Orange, Blue and Vibrant Green)
  • Candy Eyes (Small, Medium and Large)
  • Cooking Oil

DIRECTIONS

For the Rice Krispie Treats:

  1. Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat until melted.
  3. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted and combined with the butter.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract and the Rice Krispies. Stir to combine.
  5. Pour the mixture into the baking pan. Using a spatula sprayed with cooking spray gently press down until the pan is evenly coated.
  6. Allow to cool until firm.

For the Monster Coating:

  1. Melt approximately 1 cup of candy melts in a small bowl in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and then continue microwaving at 50% power for 30 seconds at a time until completely melted.
  2. Add approximately ½ teaspoon to 2 teaspoons cooking oil (the more you add the smoother the finish, but go slowly) to the melted candy melts and stir to combine.
  3. Dip the Rice Krispie Treats in the candy melts and set on parchment paper.
  4. Gently press the candy eyes into the candy melt coating to create your monster faces. Gently push the eyes slightly up towards the top of the monster’s “head” to create upper eye lids.
  5. Allow to cool at room temperature for approximately 40 minutes or until candy melts have completely hardened.

Mummy Brownie Batter Bark

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate – I like using chocolate from a bar that I’ve coarsely chopped up
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter softened
  • 1 package (18.4 ounces)brownie mix
  • 2 cups white chocolate separated
  • Large and small candy eyes

DIRECTIONS

  1. On a large cookie sheet, place a nonstick baking sheet or parchment paper.

  2. In a microwave safe bowl, pour in the milk chocolate chips. Microwave for 15 seconds, stir for 15 seconds, and repeat.

  3. Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds (stirring in between each burst) until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

  4. Pour the melted chocolate evenly over half of the baking sheet and spread until smooth with a spatula.

  5. Place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes or until hardened.

  6. Meanwhile, combine the brownie mix (discard or save the fudge package for something else) and butter. Beat together with hand mixers until a thick dough forms. If the dough is too crumbly, add a bit more butter.

  7. Knead the brownie batter “dough” with your hands and then flatten into even discs of batter. Press those discs of batter together on top of the hardened chocolate and mash together with your hands until an even layer of brownie batter is formed.

  8. Place in the fridge while preparing the white chocolate.

  9. Use very high quality white chocolate chips (or a white chocolate baking bar that you have coarsely chopped) for best results.

  10. Place 1 and 1/4 cup white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds, stir for 15 seconds, and repeat.

  11. Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds (stirring in between each burst) until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Pour over the brownie batter layer and smooth with a spatula.

  12. Press large and small candy eyes all over the white chocolate in random places.

  13. Allow the white chocolate to harden in the fridge.

  14. Melt the remaining 3/4 cup white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in bursts of 15 seconds stirring in between each burst.

  15. Pour this melted white chocolate into a small plastic bag. Cut off the tip of the bag with scissors and “pipe” the melted chocolate over the bark to create a mummy appearance. Pipe over the tops of the eyes to make the eyes look like they are peeking out.

  16. Allow the bark to completely harden. Using a large and very sharp knife, cut the bark into pieces. Then carefully peel the bark pieces off of the baking sheet or parchment.

  17. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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Micayla Shevlin

Illinois '21

Micayla is a junior at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. She is currently an Advertising major and has loved writing short stories and poetry ever since she was little.
Gloriann Lance

Illinois '19

Hi! My name is Gloriann Lance and I am a senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I am one of the two Campus Correspondents for the 2018-2019 school year and I have been on Her Campus for 3 years.