Browned Butter Rice Krispies

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You may see this post and think “are they serious? More dessert on Halloween?!” Our short answer is YES! While the kids are out trick or treating, we like to have this easy and elevated dessert for the adults. It is wild how a simple step of browning the butter completely changes the taste of a traditional rice krispie treat. The desserts have a slightly nutty taste that compliments all of the sweet marshmallowy goodness inside. We particularly like that these treats can be made ahead of time so that there is less to prepare on Halloween day.

Browned Butter Rice Krispies

  • Servings: 12 - 16 rice krispies
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An elevated spin on the classic rice krispy treat

Ingredients

  • 5 tbs butter
  • 6 cups plain rice krispies
  • 12 giant puff marshmallows
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray on both sides with cooking spray.
  2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for 5-7 minutes until it is browned. The butter will initially boil and bubble and then will settle down as it starts to brown. Monitor it closely during this time and lower the heat when it starts to have a nutty aroma.
  3. Add the marshmallows and stir consistently with a spatula until the marshmallows are melted and full incorporated.
  4. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Turn off the heat.
  5. Stir in the rice krispies until the cereal is fully coated in the marshmallow mix. Pour the mix into the greased baking dish and spread/pat evenly to form a single layer. Let cool and cut into desired shapes. Serve immediately or store in a tightly sealed container and save for later.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

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One of our favorite childhood memories of Halloween is having a special dinner of mac and cheese and “octopus” hot dogs. We would slam down that dinner and run out the door to start trick or treating. In honor of that tradition, we created this recipe for pumpkin mac and cheese. It is an adult twist on our childhood favorite, made even more festive by serving it in a large pumpkin. The mac and cheese has layers of delicious flavors, from the punch of sharp cheddar and nutty gruyere to the woody flavors of fresh thyme. The star of the show, however, is the pumpkin. We have combined canned pumpkin with some fresh pumpkin that is roasted from the serving vessel for the ultimate savory treat. We serve this family style so that people can nibble on it throughout the night while waiting for trick or treaters.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

  • Servings: 6-8 medium servings
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  An adult spin on our favorite classic Halloween dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium pumpkin
  • 1 lb orecchiette pasta
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
  • pinch of chili flakes (optional)
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 8 oz grated sharp cheddar
  • 4 oz grated gruyere cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Use a sharp knife (or a pumpkin carver) to cut an 8 inch circle into the pumpkin to remove the stem. Scrape the seeds and stringy pulp from the top and out of the pumpkin until the inside is smooth. Discard the pulp and seeds. Use 2 tbs of the olive oil to rub the inside of the pumpkin and inside layer of the stem. Put the pumpkin in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin has started to soften and the outsides are brown. Set the pumpkin aside and reduce the heat in the oven to 400 degrees.
  3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions, about 13 minutes, and drain the pasta after it has finished cooking. Set aside.
  4. Reheat the pot that the pasta was cooking in over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbs olive oil, the onion, and garlic to the pot. Stir and cook until the onions start to become translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the thyme and red pepper places and cook for another minute.
  5. Add the flour and butter to the pot. Whisk well to combine. Let the roux cook for about 2 minutes, or until it starts to become thick and bubbly. Add the pumpkin puree and milk to the pot. Whisk well to combine and let the liquids come to a simmer for about 3 minutes so that the flavors combine. Add the cheese 1 cup at a time, mixing well so that the cheese is melted into the sauce before adding more. Reduce the heat to low and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Use a spoon to gently scrape out some of the pumpkin (1/2 – 3/4 cup) from the inside of the cooked pumpkin. The pumpkin is the serving vessel, so make sure that the side walls of the pumpkin are still thick enough for serving. Add the pumpkin to the sauce and stir to combine. The texture of the pumpkin should be soft as if it were pureed.
  7. Add the pasta to the sauce. Gently toss to coat and put the mac and cheese back into the pumpkin. Cover the top of the pumpkin with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Uncover the foil and gently drape with the cooked pumpkin lid to serve.

Trick or Treat Puppy Chow

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One of the joys of Tate having a human brother is that we now have a new excitement for celebrating the holidays. Even though Tate’s brother Myles is just over a year old, we have gone off the deep end with the celebrations for Halloween. This Trick or Treat Puppy Chow is the perfect, whimsical Halloween snack for both kids and parents alike. It’s also a great way to use up any extra candy after Halloween is over. We have toned down the sugar in a traditional puppy chow recipe to compensate for all the added candy. It’s a quick, easy recipe to add to your Halloween festivities over the next few days, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser regardless of the average age of your guests.

Trick or Treat Puppy Chow

  • Servings: 10+ cups
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Our favorite way to use up that extra Halloween candy!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 9-11 cups Chex cereal (one full box)
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 cups Halloween candy of your choice

Directions

  1. Heat the butter, peanut butter, and white chocolate chips in a pot over low heat. Stir constantly to keep any from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the chocolate chips are fully melted, add the vanilla and salt, and stir to combine. Remove from heat immediately.
  2. Pour the Chex cereal into a large bowl, and drizzle the peanut butter/chocolate mixture over the top. Use a spatula to gently fold together so that all of the cereal is coated. Be careful not to stir too hard and break the cereal in the process!
  3. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, tossing to evenly combine and coat. This can be done effectively in the bag that the cereal came in or any other large ziplock. Use enough powdered sugar so that the peanut butter liquid is coated over and the pieces are not sticky to the touch. Toss with the Halloween candy and serve.

Spooky Pepperoni Pizza Dip

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This recipe is a super fun, adult and kid pleasing, Halloween dip. You can basically do no wrong by creating pizza dip. This dip is everything we love about the topping of pizza (cheese, sauce, and pepperoni) combined and served in a pizza dough bowl. Feel free to add additional pizza toppings that you like to this dip- peppers, mushrooms, olives, really anything you like to eat with pizza. This recipe is assembled by using a bread bowl to be the spider’s body and creating dough legs to make it extra cheesy for Halloween. (See what we did there!) You can use the legs for dipping and add crackers and veggies for additional dunking options.

Spooky Pepperoni Pizza Dip

  • Servings: 8
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A simple, crowd pleasing dip that can match any “theme” based on the shape of your pizza dough bowl.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs fresh pizza dough
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 1 white onion, finely diced
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup pizza sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1 package pepperoni, chopped (6 oz)
  • 1 egg, scrambled
  • Everything Bagel Seasoning

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to the temperature your pizza dough recommends (this should be on the package, but about 400 degrees if no temperature is listed). Take the dough out of the refrigerator so that it comes to room temperature.
  2. Create the dough bowl. On a clean countertop, divide one of the balls of dough into two equal parts. Roll one half of the dough out into a round circle. Spray the outside and bottom of an oven-safe, bowls shaped baking dish with cooking spray. We used a 2 cup baking bowl, but this can vary in size. Placed the rolled dough over the bottom of the baking bowl and place the dough right side up on a cookie sheet – the bowl will be upside down with the dough facing up. Use the remaining dough to create a ball “head” for the spider, if you are making this for Halloween.
  3. Use the other ball of dough to create the “legs”. Roll the remaining dough into 8 equal logs and place on the cookie sheet. Brush the scrambled egg over the legs, head and body of the spider and sprinkle Everything Bagel Seasoning on each leg. Place the cookie sheet with all of the spider dough into the oven and bake for 15 -20 minutes or until the dough is completely cooked through.
  4. While the dough is baking, in a medium pan melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté the onion for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent but not brown.
  5. Add the cream cheese and continually stir until the cream cheese is melted. Once melted, add the pizza sauce and mix to combine.
  6. Add the pepperoni and any additional pizza toppings you wish to use, turn the heat off, and set the dip aside.
  7. Once the dough is cool enough to touch, remove the bowl from under the dough bowl. Place on a platter and add the heated pizza dip. Assemble the legs next to the pizza dip bowl to create a spider. We topped ours with slices of bell pepper for eye balls. Serve as is or with additional vegetables/crackers for dipping.

Scary Salt & Pepper Skeleton Ribs

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Ribs are one of the recipes that we have struggled with over the years. It is so easy to overcook and undercook them, particularly on the grill. A few years ago we purchased Nadine Levy Redzepi’s cookbook, Downtime, and made her version of oven baked ribs. Once we made them, we never looked back. The key to this recipe is to generously season the ribs with salt and pepper. If you under season them, they won’t taste like anything and you’ll just be drowning them in bbq sauce to compensate. We love this particular recipe so much because it is so simple and really brings out the taste of the meat. It’s also a much shorter cooking time than other recipes for ribs, which is great when you haven’t planned far ahead before dinner time. We love how the ribs get just a little bit crispy and still have some pull to them, versus falling off the bone like a short rib. You can serve them with barbecue sauce, but we rarely do because they are so delicious on their own!

Scary Salt & Pepper Skeleton Ribs

  • Servings: 4
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Our favorite preparation of for ribs, just in time for Halloween dinner!

Ingredients

  • 1 rack pork spare ribs
  • 1 tbs vegetable oil or avocado oil
  • 1 scant tbs kosher salt or sea salt
  • freshly cracked pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Use a sharp paring knife or meat carving knife to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. You can do this by turning the ribs bone-side up and gently sliding your knife between the membrane and rest of the rib. Gently pull away the membrane and discard.
  3. Rub the ribs with the vegetable oil and season very well on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the ribs on a cookie sheet and into the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Be aware that if there is excess fat on the ribs, the fat will splatter and can cause your oven to get very smoky. Keep a window cracked or your air vent on if this happens.
  4. After the 1 hour and 30 minute cooking time, remove the ribs from the oven and gently cover with foil. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with barbecue sauce, if desired.