Make a big pot of soup; my favorites are French onion, broccoli cheese, Hot and Sour, Tomato Bisque, Creamy Cream of Mushroom.

Make foods of fall; beef stew with thick gravy, apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and cinnamon sauce, pumpkin pie with whipped cream…. macaroni and cheese (it’s orange!)

Prepare an Halloween dinner of spaghetti or macaroni and cheese, deviled egg eyeballs, raw carrot ‘fingers’, and spider bread

Crescent Mummy Dogs

Halloween Spider Bread Basically, I make bread dough in my bread machine and then shape it in the shape of a spider, with foil balls under each leg and bake.. Great right out of the oven with butter… we all use to fight over the legs…

See another idea using frozen bread dough (which is what I’d use now):
http://rhodesbakenserv.com/spider-dip-bowl/

Make homemade applesauce, apple dumplings, apple turnovers..

Make popcorn balls

Make caramel apples

Bake pumpkin bread

Bake sugar cookies and cut out with Autumn-shaped and/or Halloween cookie cutters. Frost with chocolate, maple, and orange flavored frostings and vanilla frosting colored purple.

Decorate cookies or cupcakes icing spiderwebs, candy corn graveyards, and marshmallow ghosts.

Bake a Halloween cake. There are so many fantastic designs to choose from.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

IMPOSSIBLE PUMPKIN PIE
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick (baking mix)
2 T. butter
one 13 oz. can evaporated milk
2 eggs
one 16 oz. can pumpkin
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Heat oven to 350. Grease pie plate, 9×1 1/4 or 10×1 1/2 inches. Beat all ingredients until smooth one minute in blender on high or two minutes with hand beater. Pour into plate. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes.

Make Soul Cakes

At one time soul cakes were given to peasants as they went door to door begging. This was the beginning of trick or treating.
The idea was that the “treat” was given to the beggar so that they would not play a trick or prank or worse, curse the homeowner. After receiving the cake, the beggars would say a prayer of thanks for the homeowner.

Two sticks butter
3 and 3/4 cups sifted flour
1 cup fine sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. each, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice
2 eggs
2 tsp. cider vinegar
4-6 Tbsp milk
Powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or a large fork. Blend in the sugar, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and allspice; beat eggs, vinegar, and milk together. Mix with the flour mixture until a stiff dough is formed. Knead thoroughly and roll out, 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch rounds and place on greased baking sheets. Prick several times with a fork and bake for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar while still warm.

Put together a Halloween meat and cheese charcuterie board.

Put together a candy board based on charcuterie boards.

Shrunken Heads in Cider

Ingredients
2 cups lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarse salt
8 large Granny Smith apples
32 whole cloves
2 gallons apple cider
2 (12-ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 cups spiced rum (optional)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together lemon juice and salt; set aside.
2.Peel apples and cut each in half through the stem; remove seeds and core. Using a sharp paring knife, carve a face, as desired, on the rounded side of each apple half. Place apples in lemon mixture for one minute; transfer to paper towels to drain.
3.Place apples, face-side up on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Let bake until apples are dry and begin to brown around the edges, about 90 minutes. Remove apples from baking sheets and press cloves into the “eye” sockets.
4.Combine cider, lemonade, and rum (if using) in a large punchbowl; float shrunken heads on top.

https://www.marthastewart.com/317697/shrunken-heads-in-cider

Mulled Cranberry Brew

1 pint cranberry juice
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
1/2 lemon peel, cut into strips
3/4 quart (1 bottle) Burgundy wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Syrup can be made ahead. Combine cranberry juice, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and lemon peel in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Simmer gently 15 minutes. Strain.

Combine syrup with wine and lemon juice; heat, but DO NOT BOIL. Serve in preheated mugs with a sprinkling of nutmeg. The syrup can be made ahead, kept in the refrigerator and combined with the wine and lemon juice before serving.

Serves 12

BLOODY RED WINE PASTA WITH MOZZARELLA BATS

• 3cups water
• 1(750 ml) bottle red wine, 1/4 cup reserved
• 1(15 ounce) can cooked sliced beets, beet juice reserved
• 1lb linguine
• 5garlic cloves
• 2tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3tablespoons olive oil
• 1cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• ¹⁄₃cup heavy cream
• 2teaspoons sugar
• 2tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
• ¹⁄₂lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bat shapes

• Combine water, red wine and beet juice (around 3/4 cup) in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add linguine and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the pasta. Set aside.
• Add beets, remaining 1/4 cup red wine, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, 1/2 cup parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper to a blender. Pulse until smooth.
• Pour the beet mixture into a saucepan. Add the reserved cooking liquid and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Add the sugar, remaining parmesan and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 3 minutes.
• Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with fresh mozzarella bats and parsley.