Great Snacks for Halloween

Bugs in a Blanket (from http://www.pillsbury.com/)

Prep Time: 30 min ; Start to Finish: 45 min Makes: 24 snacks

1 can (11 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated breadsticks

24 cocktail-size smoked link sausages (from 14-oz package)

3/4 cup shoestring potatoes (from 1 3/4-oz can)

Ketchup, barbecue sauce or mustard

1 . Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 12 breadsticks. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each breadstick in half crosswise, making 24 pieces.

2 . Wrap each piece of dough around center of each sausage, pinching to seal and leaving each end of sausage showing. Place seam side down and 1/2 inch apart on ungreased large cookie sheet.

3 . Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; place on serving plate or tray. Cool 2 minutes.

4 . Insert shoestring potatoes into baked dough to resemble legs and antennae. Decorate "bugs" with dots or stripes of ketchup.

Sweet Moster Cupcakes (from familyfun.go.com)

2 dozen cupcakes from your favorite recipe
3.4-ounce box of vanilla-flavored instant pudding
green food coloring
1 cup of green melting candy (we used Wilton Candy Melts)
24 large marshmallows
skewers
waxed-paper-lined baking sheet
M&M's Minis
small serrated knife
chocolate frosting
black gel
2 green Tic Tac mints

1. Bake and cool 2 dozen cupcakes from your favorite recipe. Prepare a 3.4-ounce box of vanilla-flavored instant pudding. Stir in drops of green food coloring until you have a shade you like, then place it in the refrigerator to chill.

2. Next, microwave 1 cup of green melting candy (we used Wilton Candy Melts, available at party supply stores) for 1 minute at 50 percent power, then stir. If necessary, heat in 15-second intervals until completely melted. One at a time, spear 24 large marshmallows with a skewer and roll them in the melted candy, coating the sides. Set them on a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet, add M&M's Minis for eyes, and place them in the refrigerator to chill.

3. With a small serrated knife, remove a 1-inch-wide chunk from the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a tablespoon or so of the pudding, then spread chocolate frosting around each pudding hole.

4. Cover each pool of pudding with a chilled marshmallow. Add black gel facial features and 2 green Tic Tac mints for bolts.

5. Finally, top each monster head with a bit of frosting and muss with your finger or a fork. Keep the cupcakes chilled until serving time.

Halloween Cat Cookies (from Taste of Home)

1 tube (18 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
54 pieces candy corn
1 can (16 ounces) chocolate frosting
Red shoestring licorice, cut into 1-3/8-inch pieces
9 thin chocolate wafer (2-1/4 inch diameter), quartered

Bake cookies according to package directions. Cool on a wire racks. Cut off yellow tips from 18 pieces of candy corn (discard orange and white portion or save for another use). Frost cookies with chocolate frosting. Immediately decorate with two whole candy corns for eyes, a yellow candy corn tip for nose, six licorice pieces for whiskers and two wafer quarters for ears. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Monster Burgers (taken from http://www.pillsbury.com/)

Prep Time: 35 min ; Start to Finish: 35 min

8 ground beef patties (4 oz each)
8 burger buns, split
8 slices (3/4 oz each) American cheese
8 thin slices cooked ham
16 slices dill pickle
Ketchup

1 . Set oven control to broil. Place ground beef patties on broiler pan. Broil with tops 3 to 4 inches from heat 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, turning once.
2 . Place bottom halves of buns on serving platter. For each monster burger, place 1 cooked patty on bottom half of bun. Cut cheese slice in half in zigzag pattern to look like teeth. Place half of cheese slice on burger, with "teeth" hanging off 1 side of patty.
3 . Loosely fold ham into tongue shape; place on top of "teeth." Place remaining cheese "teeth" on top of "tongue." Top with top half of bun. Place 2 pickle slices on top for eyes. Dot "eyes" with ketchup for pupils.