CHIPS AHOY! Spiderweb Brownie

What You Need:

-26 CHIPS AHOY! Cookies, divided

-1 pkg. (18 to 20 oz.) fudge brownie mix (13×9-inch pan size)

-1/4 cup ready-to-spread white frosting

-4 small gumdrops, cut in half 16 small round candies

-8 pieces (7 inch) red string licorice

Make It:

Heat oven to 325°F.

Line 16-inch pizza pan with parchment; spray with cooking spray. Cut 10 cookies in half; place, bottom sides down and rounded sides out, around edge of prepared pizza pan.

Prepare brownie batter as directed on package. Coarsely chop remaining cookies; stir into brownie batter. Spread evenly in center of pizza pan, spreading the batter to meet the cut sides of cookies.

Bake 25 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Microwave frosting in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 10 sec. or just until softened. (Do not microwave until melted.) Spoon frosting into resealable plastic bag. Cut small piece off one bottom corner of bag; use to drizzle frosting in spiral pattern over brownie. Gently drag toothpick through lines to resemble spider’s web as shown in photo.

Cut each licorice piece into 6 (1-inch) lengths and 2 (1/2-inch) lengths. Decorate brownie with licorice and remaining ingredients to resemble spiders as shown in photo.

Tips:

Substitute Prepare using black string licorice.

Special Extra Drizzle additional warmed frosting around edge of brownie before topping with Halloween sprinkles.

Family Fun Gather the kids to help make this spooky brownie spiderweb to serve at your next Halloween party.

OREO Eyeball Cookie Balls

Ingredients:

-1 pkg. (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, softened
-36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed
-12 oz. purple candy coating wafers
-1 Tbsp. oil
-2 pkg. (1 oz. each) large candy button eyes

*Decorations:

Assorted sprinkles, nonpareils, decorating gels or icings

Instructions:

MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended; shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Place on waxed paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate 20 min.
MELT candy coating wafers as directed on package; stir in oil. Dip balls, 1 at a time, in candy coating, turning to evenly coat all sides of each ball. Return to baking sheet.
ADD 1 candy button eye to each ball, then add other decorations as desired.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

**Recipe Tips**

Substitute
Prepare using different colors of candy coating wafers, such as green or orange.

How to Store
Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

How to Easily Dip the Cookie Balls
Keep the cookie balls refrigerated until ready to dip in the melted candy coating.

Then, add the balls, in batches, to bowl of melted coating.

Use 2 forks to roll balls in coating until evenly coated.

Remove balls with forks, letting excess coating drip back into bowl.

Place balls in prepared pan; let stand until firm.

NUTTER BUTTER Costume Party Pops

Ingredients:

-12 NUTTER BUTTER Cookies (peanut shape)
-8 oz. white candy coating wafers
-1 Tbsp. oil

Decorations:

Sprinkles, mini candy button eyes, decorating icings and gels, nonpareils, string licorice

Instructions:

INSERT 1 wooden pop stick into filling in each cookie; place on waxed paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Freeze 10 min.

MELT candy coating wafers as directed on package; stir in oil.

DIP cookies, 1 at a time, in candy coating, turning to evenly coat both sides of each cookie. Gently shake off excess coating before returning cookie to baking sheet. Add decorations as shown in photo for skulls.

REFRIGERATE 10 min. or until firm.

Recipe Tips:

Variation:
Use red candy coating wafers to decorate as devils, orange wafers to decorate as pumpkins, green or purple wafers to decorate as monsters.

Serving Suggestion:
Stand a variety of pops in a dish filled with jelly beans for a fun serving idea at your Halloween party.

RITZ Pizza Mummies

Ingredients:
-6 mozzarella cheese slices (4-1/2 oz.)
-24 RITZ Crackers
-2 Tbsp. pizza sauce
-6 small black olives, each cut into 8 slices

Instructions:

HEAT oven to 350°F.

STACK cheese slices; cut crosswise in half, then cut each halved stack lengthwise into thirds. (You should have 36 squares.) Cut each square into 4 strips.

PLACE crackers in single layer on baking sheet; cover each with 3 cheese strips, being careful to not overlap edges of strips.

TOP with pizza sauce. Add olive slices for the eyes. Cover with remaining cheese strips, overlapping edges of strips to resemble mummies as shown in photo.

BAKE 2 to 3 min. or until cheese is melted.

Recipe Tips:

Substitute
Prepare using reduced-fat mozzarella cheese slices.

Substitute
Prepare using pimiento-stuffed green olives.

Special Extra
Add 48 mini pepperoni slices before topping with black olives.

TRISCUIT Toasted Marshmallow-Sweet Potato Toppers

Ingredients:

-24 TRISCUIT Crackers
-6 marshmallows, each cut crosswise into 4 slices
-1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes, warmed
-3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
-24 pieces (1 inch each) green onion (green part only)

Instructions:

HEAT broiler.

PLACE crackers in single layer on baking sheet. Top each with 1 marshmallow slice.

BROIL, 4 to 6 inches from heat, 30 sec. to 1 min. or just until marshmallows begin to brown. (Watch carefully as marshmallows can burn quickly.)

TOP marshmallows with potatoes; sprinkle with pumpkin spice.

INSERT 1 onion piece into top of potato mixture for the pumpkin’s stem.

Serve warm.

WHEAT THINS Graveyard Taco Dip

Ingredients:

-1-1/3 cups light sour cream, divided
-1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium taco seasoning mix
-1 can (15.4 oz.) reduced-sodium refried black beans
-1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
-1 cup thick and chunky salsa
-3 green onions, thinly sliced
-1 pitted black olive, coarsely chopped

WHEAT THINS Big Snacks

Instructions:

MIX 1 cup sour cream and taco seasoning mix until blended.

SPREAD beans onto bottom of 1-1/2-qt. serving dish; top with sour cream mixture, cheese, salsa and onions.

SPOON remaining sour cream into small resealable plastic bag. Cut small piece off one bottom corner of bag; use to decorate some of the WHEAT THINS to resemble tombstones as shown in photo. Insert into top of dip.

CUT larger piece off trimmed corner of filled bag; use to squeeze sour cream mixture into mounds around decorated WHEAT THINS. Decorate with olives to resemble ghosts.

SERVE with additional WHEAT THINS.

**Recipe Tips**

Special Extra:
Serve with cut-up fresh vegetables in addition to the WHEAT THINS.

Fun Variation:
Lightly sprinkle additional taco seasoning mix onto the decorated tombstones before inserting into dip.

Note:
If you like it extra spicy, prepare using hot thick and chunky salsa.

I kept all of our spider webs and skeletons in storage this year and just brought out the cutesy pumpkins and goofy looking witches. My daughter was excited to help apply our fun window stickers and then it occurred to me… she should help make our OWN Halloween decorations. Something fun that she’d approve of to put the joy back into the holiday and help relieve the stress of it. And that’s how our pine cone bats were born!

Now, talk about decorating on a dime! If you have any conifer pine trees nearby, you can throw this together in a hot second! Besides (free) pine cones, all you need is construction paper and a few googly eyes!

Grab these things:

• Pine cones
• Black and white construction paper
• Googly eyes
• Scissors and glue

Step 1) Free hand a bat shape like in the photo below on black paper. Fold your paper over to cut multiple bat shapes out at the same time. Kill a few birds (err, bats?) with one stone.

Step 2) Fit the bat wings into the grooves of your pine cones. They will stay in place, but you can add a dab of glue if you’d like to secure them.

Step 3) Glue the googly eyes down and cut triangles to make fangs out of the white paper. Glue them below the eyes and you’re all done!!

Set in a fun spot for everyone to admire!!

May your Halloween be filled with laughter and happiness… and lots of chocolate.

Just in case you have a little one that may be afraid of the goons and goblins that will be making an appearance at the end of October… check out this DIY Monster-Be-Gone spray!

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