Nothing gets you in the Halloween spirit like yummy treats and pumpkin-flavored dishes.
Whether you need to whip something up for a family dinner, spooky night in with girlfriends, or themed party for the kids, we have a fall-inspired recipe for every occasion.
Pumpkin Soup
If you haven’t yet tried this festive comfort food, you’re missing out. Especially since the cool weather makes this the perfect time of year to whip up a big bowl of hot soup. And with less than 10 ingredients, homemade soup doesn’t get much easier than this.
Serves 4
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 leeks, only the white and light green parts, chopped
- 1 can pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (can substitute vegetable broth)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until tender, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes). Mix in pumpkin puree, broth, paprika, cumin and chili powder. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
2. Serve topped with a little sour cream and fresh chives or parsley if desired. (Recipe adapted from Real Simple)
Caramel Apple Bar
You can’t lose with caramel apples. They’re cute and easy gifts to wrap up for family or friends, or they can be the main event at a Halloween-themed party. Kids will love this fun and tasty hands-on activity. You will love how easy it is to set up!
- 10 Granny Smith apples (or however many needed)
- 10 wood craft sticks
- 2 large bags of caramel squares
- Variety of toppings
1. Set up a decorating bar with bowls of toppings (think sprinkles, candy corn, miniature M&Ms, coconut, crushed walnuts or almonds, etc.). Buy as many Granny Smith apples as needed, wash apples, remove stems and press wood craft sticks into the top.
2. Unwrap caramel squares and heat in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes. Add a splash of milk if necessary, and stir.
3. Coat the apples evenly in caramel and place them on individual squares of generously buttered wax paper. Roll apples in toppings.
Editor’s note: With a large group of kids, this can get messy quickly. To avoid a crazy clean up, dip the apples in caramel yourself in the kitchen and serve to kids on wax paper squares on a plate. They will be good to go for the decorating bar. If you’re feeling brave—or if the kids are old enough to do this mess-free—set this up as a station and allow kids to come and dip their apples and then decorate.
Pumpkin Bread
This classic University of Tennessee recipe is a total knockout. We obviously love all things pumpkin in the fall, but the combination of nutmeg and cinnamon make this one a winner. Go Vols!
Serves 16
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 teaspoon cloves
- 2/3 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2/3 teaspoon allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-by-5-inch pans.
2. Combine sugar, oil, eggs and pumpkin; mix until well blended.
3. Add all dry ingredients and blend thoroughly with pumpkin mixture. Add vanilla and water and mix until all ingredients are blended.
4. Pour mix into prepared pans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Candy Corn Krispie Treat Pretzel Pops
There’s no such thing as Halloween without candy corn, and these adorably delicious treats are worth the splurge. Plus, who doesn’t love an easy dessert that looks like you spent a ton of time making it?
- Rice Krispies Treats, however many needed (if you don’t have time to make homemade ones, store-bought ones work great)
- Pretzel rods
- White chocolate
- Orange, yellow and white sprinkles
1. Mold Rice Krispies Treats into candy corn shapes. Gently press a pretzel rod into the treat to make an indentation.
2. Melt white chocolate, and fill the indentation with chocolate. Press the pretzel rod back in place and cover with more chocolate until the entire side of the Rice Krispies Treat is covered in chocolate. This will hold the pretzel rod in place. Repeat with all Rice Krispies Treats. To save time, pop these into the freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate sets.
3. Once the chocolate has set, remove treats from the freezer and flip them over to begin decorating. Spoon white chocolate onto the “candy corn” in a horizontal stripe. Cover with yellow sprinkles. Repeat with the middle orange stripe and the top white stripe.
(Recipe and photos from lovefromtheoven.com)
