Easy Halloween Desserts

I got an email from Pillsbury the other day and thought I would share some of their very easy Halloween dessert recipes everyone.

Halloween Party Pops
Halloween prep is super fun when you invite your little gobblins to help decorate adorable cookies on sticks.

INGREDIENTS
Cookies
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
16 craft sticks (flat wooden sticks with round ends)
White Frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
Chocolate Frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
Assorted candies (gumdrops, candy corn and licorice)

DIRECTIONS
1. Freeze cookie dough 1 hour.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Cut frozen dough into 16 (1/2-inch) slices; roll each into ball. On ungreased cookie sheets, arrange balls in circle, 3 inches apart and 2 inches from edges. Securely insert a craft stick into each ball with end pointing toward center of cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. In small bowl, stir white frosting ingredients until smooth. If necessary, add additional milk 1 drop at a time for desired consistency.
5. In another small bowl, stir together all chocolate frosting ingredients except assorted candies until smooth. If necessary, add additional milk 1 drop at a time for desired consistency.
6. Frost half of cookies with white frosting; frost remaining cookies with chocolate frosting. Arrange candies on frosted cookies to create jack-o'-lanterns, cats, owls or ghosts.


Frightfully Easy Ghost Cookies
With only three ingredients, these cookies are so easy you'll want to make a whole ghostly gob of them!

INGREDIENTS
12 oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating, cut into pieces
1 (1-lb.) pkg. peanut butter-filled sandwich cookies
64 miniature chocolate chips (4 teaspoons)

DIRECTIONS
1. In small saucepan, melt candy coating over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
2. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Holding cookie with tongs, dip entire top and side of each cookie into melted coating, letting excess drip off. Lay flat, coated side up, on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets. Place 2 chocolate chips in coating to form eyes. Let stand about 10 minutes until set.


Spider Web Cookie Pizza
So cute, it's scary! A simple cookie crust becomes a web of delight!

INGREDIENTS
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12-inch pizza pan with foil; grease foil with shortening. Cut cookie dough into 1/4-inch slices; arrange evenly in pan. With floured fingers, press slices to form crust.
2. Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Use foil to lift crust from pan. Carefully remove foil from crust; place crust on serving platter or tray. Spread cream cheese mixture over crust.
4. In a small resealable food-storage plastic bag, place chocolate chips and oil; seal bag. Place bag in bowl of very hot water. Knead bag several times to melt chips. Cut small hole in 1 corner of bag. Working from center to outer edge, pipe chocolate to form spiral design over top of cream cheese mixture. Working from center of spiral to outer edge, draw tip of knife lightly through spiral to form web design.
5. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. To serve, cut into wedges or squares. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pizza.


Peanutty Halloween Cookie Pizza

INGREDIENTS
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup Halloween-colored candy-coated chocolate candies
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting (from 1-lb container)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12-inch pizza pan with foil; grease foil with shortening. Break cookie dough into 2-inch pieces; arrange evenly in pan. With floured fingers, press to form crust.
2. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. Use foil to lift crust from pan. Carefully remove foil from crust; place crust on serving platter or tray. Spread peanut butter over crust. Sprinkle with chocolate candies and peanuts.
4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on High 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle. Transfer to small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut small hole in 1 corner of bag; drizzle over cookie pizza. Cut into wedges or squares.

I went to the store the other day and bought some things to work with Rylie on learning her ABC's and numbers. I just want to take a minute and salute the people who go into the education field. It is hard enough for me to get this one child to sit and concentrate and listen to me...I cannot imagine doing this stuff with a roomful of 20-30 other children her age. So kudo's to those of you who teach our children.

Anyway, on of the big things we need to work on around here is Rylie's hand-eye coordination. I thought maybe today we would make some Halloween decorations or crafts. That way she can practice using little scissors and stuff. Which reminds me, I need to find her craft scissors, I hid them after she used them to cut her hair last spring.

Anyway...here are a few sites that I found for crafts. I'm including the HP site as it has some cool things like invitations, greeting cards and scrapbooking things that mommies may be interested in.

Making Friends

Kaboose Crafts

Enchanted Learning

HP Creative Studio

Even if you don't find something at any of those sites that is exactly what you want to do, you might find something that inspires an idea or whatnot. I think I'm going to check out some of the pumpkin carving templates they have on the HP site. This would be a good night to do Rylie's pumpkin. Yesterday Rylie and daddy made some Halloween sugar cookies, so I think they will frost them tonight and then we can do the pumpkin.

Have a wonderful day!
Jill Marie