HALLOWEEN MONSTER BURGERS
Prep time: 10 minutes • Total time: 18 minutes • Servings: 4
These Halloween Monster Burgers give a ghoulishly fun twist on burger night, featuring all your favorite toppings transformed into olive eyes, cheese fangs and a pickle tongue.
Whether you reach for a traditional hamburger patty or switch it up with chicken, turkey, bean or veggie options, the effect is the same: a dinner that looks like it escaped from a mad scientist’s lab. It’s a good way to get some protein and veggies into kids before the trick-or-treating sugar rush, and you can even make it interactive by inviting them to decorate their own monsters and come up with creative variations.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for some spooky hors d’oeuvres to impress at this year’s Halloween party, these burgers are easy to size down into slider form. Serve a whole tray of mini monsters ready to devour – or be devoured by – hungry guests.
• 4 hamburger, chicken or veggie patties
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons ketchup, plus additional, to taste, divided
• 4 hamburger buns
• 8 leaves baby romaine lettuce
• 4 slices dill pickles, sliced lengthwise
• 4 cheese slices
• 8 large green olives, pits removed
Cook burger patties until they reach desired doneness.
In small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 4 teaspoons ketchup. Spread each bun base with about 1 tablespoon mayo sauce then add two lettuce leaves and cooked burger patty.
Add pickle slice as monster “tongue.” Take each cheese slice and cut triangles into one side to resemble teeth; add to burger then cover with ketchup “blood,” to taste.
Stick olives on toothpicks and add two to each top bun as “eyeballs.”
CINNAMON SPICED GHOST CUPCAKES
Prep time: 20 minutes • Cook time: 16 minutes • Servings: 12
These Cinnamon Spiced Ghost Cupcakes are the perfect example, with the warmth and sweetness of the cake offering a tasty base for piles of frightful frosting. All it takes to transform a swirl of white buttercream into a spooky ghost is a couple dots of food coloring, chocolate chips or another candy of choice.
They’re simple to make, easy to personalize and fun for all ages, whether you’re baking a tray for kids to decorate or bringing them to a Halloween party. Add sprinkles, a dusting of cinnamon or decorations that fit your theme.
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3-5 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Black food dye or chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 F and line cupcake pan with paper liners.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Using electric or stand mixer, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar about 4 minutes on medium or medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, mixing well and scraping down bowl.
In small bowl or measuring cup, whisk milk and vanilla. Set aside.
Add 1/3 dry ingredient mixture to butter mixture and beat until combined. Add 1/2 milk mixture and mix well. Continue alternating dry and wet ingredients.
Bake about 16 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle of cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
TO MAKE FROSTING: Using electric or stand mixer, beat butter and salt on medium-high speed 5 minutes, scraping down bowl halfway through.
Reduce speed to low and add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with heavy cream until 3 tablespoons have been added. Stop occasionally to scrape down bowl. Once all sugar is in, add vanilla and beat on medium-low 1 minute until light and fluffy. If desired, add additional cream 1 teaspoon at a time until frosting reaches preferred consistency.
Place buttercream in piping bag with large round tip. Pipe tall mounds of frosting on each cupcake in ghost shapes (wider on bottom, narrower on top). Add dots of black food dye or chocolate chips for eyes.