By Rachel Vigil

Halloween is approaching fast. Get into the spirit of halloween by making some of these ghoulish recipes.

Boo Brownies:

These cute ghost treats are sure to be a hit with their customizable faces and yummy brownie base.

Ingredients:

Brownie base-

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 2 large eggs

• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

• ⅓ cup cocoa powder

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup flour

Ghost topping-

• 16 marshmallows

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 ½ tbsp. milk

• black writing icing

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease an 8×8 pan.

2. Mix oil and sugar until well blended.

3. Add eggs and vanilla. stir them in until just blended.

4. Mix baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, and flour together in a separate bowl.

5. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir together until well blended. Mixture should be smooth and no lumps should remain.

6. Pour mixture into greased pan.

7. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until sides just start to pull away from pan.

8. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting. When cooled, cut into 16 squares.

9. Prepare icing by mixing the powdered sugar and the milk.

10. Put a dab of frosting on a marshmallow, place it on one of the brownies. Wait a minute for icing to set.

11. Pour icing over brownie until there all sides are fairly covered (see picture). Then wait 5 minutes for icing to harden.

12. Once icing has hardened, use black decorating icing to draw a face on the ghost marshmallow. Repeat with all the brownies.

Deviled Eyes:

These deviled eggs will emanate the spooky Halloween spirit while satisfying the taste buds. You can adjust this recipe for however many eggs you wish to make. Just remember to also change the amount of the other ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs

• 1.5 tsps. mustard

• 1.5 tsps. mayonnaise

• 12 black olive slices

1. Place 6 eggs in a saucepan filled with water that covers them completely.

2. Place on high heat.

3. Once the water starts to boil, set a timer for 10 minutes, the eggs will be done once that time has passed.

4. Turn the heat off and remove the eggs.

5. Let the eggs cool in cold water, may take 15-20 minutes.

6. Once eggs have cooled, peel them and slice the in half lengthwise.

7. Remove the yolk and mix it with the mayonnaise and mustard. Adjust the amounts of each according to your taste.

8. Evenly spoon the yolk mixture back into the empty space left in each egg.

9. Place an olive slice in the middle of each yolk to make it look like an eyeball.

10. Place on a serving platter and enjoy!

Graveyard/ Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes:

These cupcakes look like they have grass on them because of the special coconut frosting, and the candies used can be switched out for your personal favorites at your discretion.

Makes 16 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes-

• 1½ cups flour

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• ½ cup cocoa powder

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1 tsp. vinegar

Frosting and decorations-

• 2 cups coconut

• ¼ cup softened butter (4 tbls.)

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp. milk

• green food coloring

• 6 peep tombstones

• 10 candy corn pumpkins

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and line cupcake tray.

2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder well.

3. Add water, vegetable oil, and vinegar into your wet ingredients and mix until it is smooth, brown, and free of lumps.

4. Put 2 tbsp. of the batter into each lined cup.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Once done baking, let cupcakes cool on a cooling rack.

7. To make the frosting: Mix coconut and approximately 8 drops of food coloring until you reach the desired shade of green.

8. In a separate bowl mix butter until it is smooth and creamy.

9. Add powdered sugar to the butter and cream until well combined. Should resemble frosting at this point.

10. Add milk, vanilla, and desired amount of food coloring (I used about 6 drops). Mix until all are completely incorporated.

11. Add frosting to coconut until the coconut mixture is sticky, but be sure to still retain the easily discernible nature of individual flakes of the coconut.

12. Spread the coconut frosting on the cupcakes and add the pumpkins and tombstones on top of that. Insert a toothpick in the bottom of the tombstone in order to have them stand upright on the cupcakes.

13. Display close together on a platter and enjoy!

Spider-Web Pizza:

Serve a crowd with a spooky spider-themed pizza. For the crust, using either homemade or frozen dough is perfectly fine.

Ingredients:

• 1 package pre-made pizza dough

• ½ cup pizza sauce (adjust based on personal preferences)

• 2 cups refrigerated mozzarella cheese (adjust based on your personal preferences)

• 1 package mini pepperonis

• 8 black olive slices

1. Preheat oven to 425℉.

2. Roll out pizza dough to desired thickness and place on a baking stone or pizza pan.

3. Put pizza dough in oven for about 5 minutes before placing any toppings on it.

4. Take pizza crust out and spread sauce out, leaving about 1 inch on the edge of the circle without sauce.

5. Place cheese over the sauce evenly.

6. Place pepperonis in a web pattern extending out from the center of the pizza.

7. Divide all olive slices in half but two of them. Place one of the unhalved slices in the center of the pizza, place 4 of the halves around it in a circle-like shape, put 8 of the halves on either side of the already placed olives on their bottom (these will be the legs), and finally place the last olive on one of the ends without the legs for his head.

8. Put pizza back into the oven and bake for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese and crust look golden brown.

9. Let cool for at least 3-5 minutes before serving.

10. Slice up and enjoy!