When I first started cooking at the ripe age of 12, I used to make my brothers all of these crazy food concoctions, like mushy green cake or strange-looking casseroles. Although my culinary ability has vastly improved, I still love to pull pranks in the food department, especially around Halloween.
If you’re like me and love pranking the ones you love, then these five gross-looking edibles are perfect for your Halloween bash. From bloody Band-Aid brownies to wormy sliders to broken-glass cupcakes, these will be as fun to make as they are to eat.
1. Broken-glass cupcakes recipe
Don’t worry, these aren’t made from real broken glass! The glass is made from candy but looks exactly like the shards you see when you accidentally drop a wineglass, right?
Serves 12
Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 18 minutes | Total time: 28 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes
- 1 batch vanilla cupcakes (use this recipe)
- 1 can white frosting (or simple white buttercream)
- 1 jar cherry or strawberry pie filling, completely pureed
- Red icing gel
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
Directions:
- To make the candy, in a heavy-duty saucepan, bring the granulated sugar and water to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook until the mixture just starts to turn pale gold around the edges. Remove from heat, and immediately pour the candy onto a rimmed baking sheet. While the candy is still warm, tilt the pan so it covers the pan entirely. Let the candy cool to harden, and then break it up into pieces.
- Let your cupcakes cool. Once cooled, it’s time to frost them.
- Fill a piping bag with the white frosting on 1 side and the pureed filling on the other. Start by placing the tip on the outside edge of the cupcake, holding the piping bag upright. Squeeze it around the outside edges, and continue to squeeze with constant pressure until you’ve covered the entire cupcake. Create the iconic peak by pulling the bag straight up and releasing the pressure.
- To add more “gore,” drizzle more pureed mix over the tops of the cupcakes.
- Place a few shards of “glass” on the tops of the cupcakes. Add red icing gel to the tips of the candy glass.
2. Bloody intestines recipe
Adapted from All the Cooks
You can’t have Halloween without a little blood, am I right? These gross-looking intestines are one of my favorite party snacks come Oct. 31, because they are such a huge hit with kids and adults alike.
Serves 6-8
Prep time: 15-20 minutes | Bake time: 25-30 minutes | Total time: 40-50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 package puff pastry sheets, thawed
- 1 (24 ounce) jar cherry pie filling (about 3 cups)
- 1 egg, beaten
- Water
- Pastry brush
Directions:
- Once the puff pastry has thawed, unroll it. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice each sheet into 6 pieces.
- On a floured surface, press the ends of the puff pastry together so you get 1 long rope. Carefully fill the center of each strip with cherry pie filling, leaving a wide enough border around so you can press the puff pastry dough over the filling.
- Once you’ve filled the strips, carefully but tightly press the ends of the dough over the filling, using your hands to secure them. Use a fork to press down the edges if need be.
- Grease a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Very carefully move the rope puff pastry onto the baking sheet, and arrange it into a coiled, intestine-like shape. You want the coiled sections to touch one another so they puff together as the pastry bakes.
- Brush the egg-water mixture over the intestines, and cover with additional cherry pie filling for added “gore.”
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Wormy sliders recipe
Adapted from Pillsbury
These gross-looking worm sliders will be a huge hit with the boys in your family. Trust me, my husband oogled over them once they were made. They are a great prank for your traditional family dinners too!
Serves 6
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 5-6 minutes | Total time: 10-11 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 hot dogs, each cut into 6 strips
- 6 slider or burger buns, toasted
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
- Kale or lettuce, for garnish
Directions:
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the hot dog strips. Pour in the sauce, and toss to coat.
- Cook for about 4 to 6 minutes or until the strips start to curl up. Serve on the toasted buns with kale.
4. Spider-infested cookie sandwiches recipe
This three-ingredient treat is the perfect Halloween snack for when you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. Plus, how gross do those spiders look? Yuck!
Yields 12
Prep time: 14 minutes | Bake time: 16 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 package break-and-bake chocolate chip cookies (or make your own with this recipe)
- Orange frosting
- Black icing gel
Directions:
- Bake the cookies according to the package instructions, and let them cool on a wire cooling rack.
- Once the cookies have cooled, slab a hefty portion of orange icing in the center of 1 cookie, and stack another cookie on top.
- Using the chocolate chip “bumps” as your guide, carefully draw spiders and legs on the tops of the cookies with the black icing gel.
- Serve immediately, or chill them for later.
5. Bloody Band-Aid brownies recipe
Want to really freak out your party guests? Whip them up these bloody Band-Aid-inspired brownies. Trust me, they only look gross — they actually taste quite delicious.
Serves 12
Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 35 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 box fudgy brownie mix plus ingredients called for
- 1 canister chocolate frosting
- 4 sheets graham crackers
- 12 large marshmallows
- Red icing gel
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a standard square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the brownie mix with the ingredients, stirring to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and bake for about 35 minutes or until the brownies slightly pull away from the pan.
- Let cool completely. Once the brownies have cooled, frost them liberally with chocolate frosting.
- To assemble the Band-Aid brownies, break the graham crackers into 12 squares. Carefully slice the large marshmallows into 12 squares, and then carefully stretch them over the centers of the crackers (to make the white part of the Band-Aid). Squirt a little bit of red food gel onto the centers to make the blood.
- Serve immediately.
More Halloween inspiration
More fun Halloween recipes
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3 Homemade Halloween treat jars
Homemade spider web pizza
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