Oh My! 3 Spooktacular Snacks for Your Family’s Halloween Festivities
Hosting a house full of wee witches and pint-size poltergeists this Halloween? We have the party snacks for you: goofy apple goblins, frozen banana ghosts, and spider deviled eggs! They’re surprisingly easy to make and just plain scary-cute (hey, strawberry goblin tongues—we’re looking at you). Turn the prep into a party, too, by inviting your child to help “mummy” or daddy assemble teeth, eyes, or legs. Tasty and fun, we bet you’ll find excuses to make them year-round…spider-covered eggs for Labor Day, anyone?
On the menu: goofy apple goblins, frozen banana ghosts, and spider deviled eggs! Full recipes for all three below.
Goofy apple goblins are a great Halloween snack for children with common food allergies—you can even make the googly eyes with non-dairy milk and non-dairy chocolate chips. Nuts are okay in your house? You can use peanut butter instead of sunflower butter, and slivered almonds in place of sunflower seeds for the teeth.
The googly eyes on these goblins make us giggle, but for a snack without any added sugar, use raisins, currants, or dried cranberries or blueberries for the eyes instead.
Only three ingredients are needed to whip up a batch of adorable frozen banana ghost pops. Find Popsicle® sticks at craft stores, online, or in the art or office supplies sections at large retailers.
They may be fruit-filled, but the white chocolate coating makes frozen banana ghost pops a once-in-a-while treat. Check out these frozen banana and yogurt pops—you can use currants for eyes (and just nix the chocolate drizzle)!
Below we share an easy, classic recipe for the base of spider deviled eggs. But as long as your shopping list includes olives, feel free to use whatever version your family likes best.
Deviled eggs + olives = one creepy crawly snack! For an even scarier presentation, check out this video how-to for creating a spider web design on the egg itself using blueberries or food dye.
In our centers, we embrace family-style eating—encouraging children to serve themselves teaches them important social skills (like passing items, sharing, being patient, and saying “please” and “thank you”) and how to listen to their own hunger cues. Allowing them to get in on the serving action can also inspire them to try new foods, such as hard-boiled eggs or sunflower seeds.
Sure, there will likely be some smears, stains, and spills when children serve themselves, but you’ll also get lots of ghoulishly grand grins.
GOOFY APPLE GOBLINS
*Recipe adapted from Fork & Beans, a blog that features tasty recipes for families with food allergies.
Yields: 8
Total time: 20 minutes prep + 24 hours for googly eyes to set/15 minutes prep for apple faces
Ingredients:
Note: The googly eyes need at least 24 hours to set, so plan ahead.
For the googly eyes:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons regular or non-dairy milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- Approximately ¼ cup regular or non-dairy mini chocolate chips
For the apple faces:
- 2 green apples
- Approximately ½ cup sunflower butter
- 32–40 sunflower seeds
- 2–4 strawberries
- 8–16 googly eyes
Directions:
To make the googly eyes:
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the powdered sugar and cornstarch to a medium bowl and whisk together.
- Add the corn syrup, milk, and extract to the bowl and mix together until it forms a thick paste.
- Transfer the paste to a pastry bag fitted with the round tip and pipe a line of small dots onto the lined baking sheet. If you don’t have a pastry bag, use a Ziploc® bag with a corner snipped off.
- Moving quickly before the paste sets, gently press a chocolate chip into the center of each dot.
- Repeat the process until all the paste is gone. Set the baking sheet aside for at least 24 hours to allow the eyes to set. Store any leftover eyes in an airtight container for up to three months.
To make the apple faces:
- Quarter and core the apples so that you have 8 pieces. To create mouths, cut a large crevice out of the green-skin side of each piece.
- Coat the inside of each mouth with ½–1 tablespoon of sunflower butter.
- Press 4 or 5 sunflower seeds into the top of each mouth to create teeth.
- Slice the strawberries lengthwise. Place a single slice inside each mouth, below the teeth, to create a tongue.
- Use small dabs of sunflower butter to “glue” an eye or two above the mouth. Enjoy!
FROZEN BANANA GHOSTS
*Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste, a website dedicated to healthy recipes for the whole family.
Yields: 8
Total time: 30 minutes active time/Approximately 4 hours freezing
Ingredients:
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 2 cups (about 12 ounces) or more of quality white chocolate
- 16 mini chocolate chips (or leftover googly eyes!)
- 8 Popsicle® sticks
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set aside.
- Cut each banana in half across the middle, and then cut each piece in half again lengthwise to make 4 quarters per banana.
- Gently push a Popsicle stick into the cut-end of each banana slice, and then place each banana pop on the baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the freezer until the bananas are frozen (at least 2 hours).
- When the bananas are ready, line a second baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the white chocolate in a double boiler and heat on low, stirring frequently, until just melted—it should be smooth and shiny. You can also use a heatproof bowl set over—but not in—a pan of gently simmering water. Note: Overheating chocolate will cause it to seize—i.e., become muddy and clumpy. Moisture (like what might develop on a frozen banana that is starting to melt) will also cause chocolate to seize, so you’ll want to work quickly during the dipping process in the next step. You could even remove the bananas from the freezer one at a time to minimize melting.
- Dip each banana into the chocolate, using a spoon to cover any blank spots as needed, and then place it on the second baking sheet. Quickly add the chocolate chips for eyes to each ghost before moving on to the next banana.
- Return the bananas to the freezer until frozen. Enjoy!
SPIDER DEVILED EGGS
Yields: 12
Total time: 30 minutes prep/15 minutes cooking
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 3 tablespoons heart-healthy canola mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 12 black olives
Directions:
- Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with cool water—the water should sit 1 to 2 inches above the eggs.
- Heat the pot on high until the water comes to a rolling boil and then cover the pot, turn the heat off, and let sit on the burner for 12 minutes.
- Transfer the eggs to a colander and place under cool running water for 1 minute.
- Crack the egg shells and peel them off under cool running water. Gently dry the eggs using paper towels.
- Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, and scoop or pop the yolks into a mixing bowl. Place the egg whites on a serving platter.
- Mash the yolks using a fork. Add the mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well.
- Spoon the yolk mixture back into the waiting egg whites.
- Cut an olive in half and put one half on top of a deviled egg for the “spider” body.
- Cut the second half of the olive in half lengthwise, and then thinly slice one of those pieces crosswise to get 8 small “legs.” Add 4 legs to each side of the spider body on the deviled egg. Repeat for all 12 eggs. Enjoy!
