5 Kid-Friendly Treats for At-Home Halloween Celebrations

Halloween might look a little different this year. There won’t be big Halloween parties with friends, trick-or-treating might involve candy chutes rather than doorbell-ringing, and some families might opt to ding-dong-ditch trick-or-treating totally in favor of some fun Halloween activities at home. Whatever your family decides, one thing that hasn’t changed is the desire for some delicious, sweet, spooktacular treats.

Below is a collection of festive kid-tested and kid-approved recipes perfect for kids to make ahead of (or even on!) Halloween this year.

Pumpkins and Halloween go together like . . . well, pumpkin bread and chocolate chips. Pumpkin puree and chocolate chips transform this quick bread into a festive orange and black treat that the whole family will enjoy. Keep with the pumpkin theme and challenge your young chef to a pumpkin carving competition. Young chefs can bake their Pumpkin Bread, and slice a few pieces for the family to snack on while creating unique jack-o-lanterns. You can use a pumpkin carving specific tool, but we find that a soupspoon, chef’s knife, and paring knife work just as well, if not better. [GET THE RECIPE]

Fall means apple picking, which also sometimes means an overabundance of apples in your home. Have your young chef give a few of those apples the Halloween treatment by turning them into DIY Caramel Apples, one of the recipes from our newest cookbook, The Complete DIY Cookbook for Young Chefs. Our recipe melts down soft caramel candies with a bit of cream to make a dippable—and more kid-friendly—caramel sauce. Kids can jazz up their creations by rolling their dipped apples in chopped peanuts, shredded coconut, or even mini M&Ms. Don’t forget the popsicle sticks to form handles! [GET THE RECIPE]

While these were designed with young chefs ages 5 to 8 in mind, kids (and grown-ups) of all ages will have fun creating these spooky treats. Kids can choose from a few of the examples we provide to make an array of adorable–err, we mean terrifying–Halloween-themed goodies. Will they make Apple Monsters, Pizza Mummies, or Doughnut Bats? Clementine Pumpkins, Mini Waffle Spiders, Ghost Fruit Kebabs, or a spooky treat entirely of their own invention? Kids can use whatever ingredients you have at home, but we recommend getting some candy eyeballs if they’re trying to make their treats creepy, kooky, and spooky. [GET THE RECIPE]

Has your young chef (and probable candy lover) ever wondered how they could make their own candy? If you're spending more time at home, this Halloween season is the perfect time to give our Candy Button recipe a try. Young chefs can set up an assembly line with their siblings to work on piping their dots (they’ll need a medium round pastry tip and a few pastry bags) onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bonus: Our version won’t end up stuck to the paper, unlike the ones you may remember eating as a kid. [GET THE RECIPE]

As we get deeper into fall and the weather gets colder, a cup of sweet and spiced hot chocolate is a great way to warm up. Young chefs can prepare the dry mix ahead of time, store it in an airtight container, and use it to make single servings of Spiced Hot Chocolate in the microwave. This hot chocolate recipe is inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, and includes a bit of spice thanks to cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mexico celebrates Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on November 1st and 2nd–right after Halloween.

The holiday originated thousands of years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and Nahua people. Mourning the dead was considered disrespectful, and death was seen as a new phase in life and during Día de los Muertos, the souls of the dead briefly returned to Earth. Today, it’s a celebration meant to honor and show love and respect for deceased family members. Have your young chefs mix up a batch of hot chocolate, and then talk about the holiday while enjoying the beverage. Kids can learn a little more about Día de los Muertos by watching this video from PBS Learning Media, or reading this story from National Geographic Kids. [GET THE RECIPE]

If you're looking for more information on cooking with kids, check out these articles:

• Resources for Keeping Kids Active and Healthy at Home
• 3 Creative Ways to Make Family Meals Fun
• A Comprehensive List of the Very Best Cooking Equipment for Kids
  
• How to Get Kids to Eat More Vegetables