Midnight Moon CakeIngredients:
23 chocolate wafers (reserve 3 wafers for the bat wings)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup chopped TWIX® Cookie Bars
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup chopped MILKY WAY® Bars
1/4 cup lowfat milk
3 packages (8 oz. each) fat free cream cheese, room temperature
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Yellow food coloring
3 M&M’S® Brand Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies
1 8-inch round spring form pan(s)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare the baking pan. Line the bottom of an 8-inch round spring form pan with heavy-duty foil. Grease the pan’s sides and bottom. Wrap foil around the outside of the pan; set aside.
2. Process 20 chocolate wafers, 2 tablespoons of sugar and TWIX® Cookie Bars in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the mixture evenly around the bottom of the prepared pan. Place that pan into a larger pan, such as a shallow roasting pan. Set aside.
3. Prepare the batter by heating MILKY WAY® Bars and milk in a microwave until melted, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
5. Divide the batter between two mixing bowls. In one bowl, add cocoa powder and the chocolate mixture; stir until blended. Pour chocolate batter into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Tint the remaining bowl of batter yellow. Gently spoon this yellow batter on top of the chocolate layer, covering it completely.
6. Before baking, create a water bath to keep the top of the cheesecake from badly cracking. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cheesecake sets with a 2-inch jiggly circle in the center. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake remain inside for 30 minutes with the door ajar. At this time, remove the roasting pan to a wire rack, and allow the cheesecake to cool in the water bath until it lowers to room temperature. Remove the cheesecake pan from the water bath and loosely cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting into wedges.
7. To unmold the cake, gently run a small knife around the pan’s edges; loosen the hinge, and remove the cake. Place on a serving platter.
8. To make the bats, cut the 3 reserved cookie wafers in half. Either leave the edges jagged or, using a small cookie cutter, press out a scalloped edge. Arrange pairs of the cookie halves close together to resemble bat wings, pressing the inside tips slightly into the top of the cake. Place black M&M’S® Brand Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies in between for the bats’ bodies.
Witch's Brew of CandyIngredients:
24 pieces of Mars FUN SIZE® Variety Bag such as Chocolate Mix FUN SIZE® including SNICKERS® Bars, M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies and TWIX® Caramel Cookie Bars
4 cups M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies for Halloween,optional for decoration
8 (9 x 12-inch) sheets black or orange craft foam
Scissors
Non-toxic clear glue
8 paper clips
1 large bowl, basket or container
Raffia
Directions:
1. Cut 8 hat cones and brims from craft foam.
2. To make cones, place the interlocking slots together and glue. Hold together with a paperclip while drying. Once dry, rim the bottom edge with glue and set on the brim to dry.
3. If you like, fill the bowl with M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies. Nestle the hats upside down into the bowl and arrange 3 pieces of FUN SIZE® candies and raffia in each hat.
Vampire BitesIngredients:
1 ½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
Red food coloring
¼ cup red decorator’s sugar
24 pieces MILKY WAY® Minis
1 tube vanilla frosting
Plastic wrap
Electric mixer
Large bowl
Medium bowl
2 cookie sheet pans
Directions:
1. Combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg; beat well. Slowly add the flour mixture into the dough until blended. Add enough food coloring to tint the dough a bright red. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the cookie sheet pans with the parchment paper.
4. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 24 lip shapes. Otherwise, you can form the dough into 24 balls and flatten each slightly to create free-form shaped lips using your hands to pinch and shape the dough. Transfer these to the prepared cookie sheets. Re-roll the scraps if necessary.
5. Sprinkle the cookies with red sugar. Bake 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and immediately press a MILKY WAY® Minis into the center of each cookie. Cool completely. Use vanilla frosting to pipe fangs over the candy.
* Tip: If short on time, consider using store-bought refrigerated sugar cookie dough. Begin by kneading 2/3 cup of flour into the dough, then roll and cut according to the above directions. One roll of cookie dough makes approximately 18 cookies.
Pumpkin Cookie PopsIngredients:
1 roll (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 can (16 oz.) vanilla frosting
Orange and green food coloring
2 cups M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies for Halloween
2 cookie sheets
25 colored craft sticks
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. Cut approximately 30 1/4-inch slices of cookie dough. Place them on the cookie sheets. Slip a colored craft stick’s 2-inch tip underneath each cookie. At the top of each cookie and directly on the opposite side of the craft stick make a small dimple in the dough.
3. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
4. Tint a quarter cup of frosting with the green food coloring. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag, snip a small corner, and set aside.
5. Tint the remaining frosting with the orange food coloring. Spread it on the cookie tops. Use the green frosting to pipe the pumpkin stems around the dimples. Use M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies to decorate the cookies like Jack-O-Lanterns.
Spider CupcakeIngredients:
1 box (18.25 oz.) Devil’s Food cake mix
1 can (16 oz.) dark chocolate frosting
1 can (10.5 oz.) chocolate sprinkles
24 large marshmallows
¼ cup M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies
48 red or black licorice laces
1 toothpick
Directions:
1. Prepare the cake mix according to the package instructions.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper-liners. Fill each cup with 2/3 cup of batter.
3. Bake in a preheated 350°F for 18-21 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely.
4. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the chocolate frosting in a resealable plastic bag.
5. Spread the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining frosting. Then, coat the tops with the chocolate sprinkles.
6. Cut the marshmallows in half crosswise. Using the reserved frosting, attach two marshmallow pieces to each cupcake as eyes. Dot the center of each marshmallow piece with frosting and attach M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies. Then, attach another marshmallow piece with frosting and attach M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies for the mouth.
7. Cut each licorice lace into four equal pieces. Press four holes into 2 sides of each cupcake using the toothpick. Insert a licorice piece into each hole for each spider’s legs, 8 pieces per cupcake.
Chocolate MiceIngredients:
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
1/3 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
24 silver dragees decorating candy
1/4 cup sliced almonds
12 (2 inch) pieces long red vine licorice
Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate, and combine with sour cream. Stir in 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
2. Roll by level tablespoonfuls into balls. Mold to a slight point at one end (the nose).
3. Roll dough in confectioners sugar (for white mice), and in chocolate cookie crumbs (for dark mice). On each mouse, place dragees in appropriate spot for eyes, almond slices for ears, and a licorice string for the tail.
4. Refrigerate for at least two hours, until firm.
