Creepcakes!

Halloween is my second favorite holiday of all time. Christmas is first. Thanksgiving is third. But I love kicking things off with Halloween. My good friend Mandy and I always host a pumpkin carving party, and it just gets better every year.

A very attractive shot from the 2008 Pumpkin Carving Party

It is a great tradition. And, as with all great traditions, it comes with an array of special food. In preparation for this year's festivities I've started gathering ideas and trying out exciting new party foods.

Enter these fabulously fun creepcakes!

How fun are those laffy taffy tongues?

These are my trial run, and there were certainly some winners in the bunch (and some very sad looking losers). I'm a big fan of the cyclops with tentacles and the funky little dude with the green tongue. Next time I'm going to do some light green frosting in addition to the dark green and maybe even some orange tint.

I used a basic chocolate cupcake recipe and a fluffy vanilla frosting for these, but you could substitute any number of flavor combinations for them. There are some must have candy items for these but you can use your imagination and whatever happens to be in your halloween candy stash.

Some must haves:

• Chocolate Chips (regular and miniature)
• Marshmallows (regular and miniature)
• Laffy Taffy
• Round colored candy (M&Ms, Gobstoppers, etc.)
• Licorice Lace

Your basic step-by-step:

1. Make your cupcakes, allow to cool completely. (I used regular and mini muffin tins for variety)
2. Make your frosting, tint with your choice of food coloring (definitely do some light and dark green)
3.  To make marshmallow eyes: cut a small slit in the top of a marshmallow, insert chocolate chips or colored candy for pupils. Marshmallows can also be sliced in half and have candy placed in center.
4. To make tongues: flatten out a single piece of laffy taffy using a rolling pin or your hands, leaving the ends rounded. Cut in half and run a knife down the center of each tongue to make an indentation. 
5. To make tentacles: flatten out laffy taffy and cut into long triangular pieces. Press with your fingers to curve.

Stay tuned for more tricks and treats to come this week!

Couldn't resist adding a picture of my little pumpkin at the pumpkin patch