We generally discourage cooking with open wounds. Then again, Halloween is the one time of year nobody seems to mind a little blood on their food.
So to get you in the mood for gore, we created these grossly delicious blood drop cookies. They are quick, easy and perfectly disturbing.
Blood Drop Cookies
Article Photos
AP Photo - - Bog Bars are as ugly as they are delicious.
Start to finish: 2-1/2 hours (20 minutes active) Makes 3 dozen cookies
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bits
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
Fact Box
This year, try a delicious pumpkin pie ... that you drink
Why should Thanksgiving have all the fun? Let Halloween in on the pumpkin pie action by turning the classic autumnal dessert into a punch.
This blend of spices, apple cider and ginger ale is delicious and rich, yet still refreshing. And it's easily adapted. Leave it as is for kids, or add vodka or rum for an adult version.
Also, consider continuing the pie theme by baking up some pumpkin gingerbread cookies think crust for dunking in glasses of the punch.
Pumpkin Pie Punch
Start to finish: 10 minutes. Makes 1-1/2 gallons (about 24 cups)
15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 gallon apple cider
2-liters ginger ale, cold
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add the apple cider and whisk until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Chill.
In a large punch bowl, gently stir together the cider-pumpkin mixture and the ginger ale. Serve with ice.
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate bits and butter, stirring constantly. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs. Add the melted chocolate and butter, then stir until smooth. Stir in the baking powder, salt and flour until completely smooth. Refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop the dough by the tablespoonful out onto the prepared baking sheets leaving 2 inches between the cookies for spreading. Gently press each ball of dough with the palm of your hand to slightly flatten until about 1/2 inch thick.
Using your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon, create a dimple in the center of each cookie. Add a teaspoon of raspberry jam to the dimple of each cookie. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool.
Pretty ugly treats
The beauty of Halloween treats is that you don't have to worry about making them pretty.
In fact, the uglier they are, the better. And that was the inspiration for this baked treat. We wanted a bar that was appropriately loaded with sugar (it is the high holiday of sweets, after all) and looked as though somebody had dragged it through a swamp.
And so we came up with bog bars, which start as a basic blondie-like bar studded with dried cherries. Then we smear melted chocolate over the top and start dumping delicious things all over them. The gummy worms and pretzels are a particularly nice touch, resembling the snakes and twigs one surely encounters during midnight swamp strolls.
Bog Bars
Start to finish: 40 minutes (10 minutes active). Serves 16.
2 cups dried cherries
1/2 cup apple or orange juice
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
16 chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into large pieces, divided
12 ounces milk chocolate bits
2 honey graham crackers, broken
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup pretzel sticks (broken)
Handful gummie worms or bugs
2 green fruit roll-ups, torn to pieces
Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray.
In a microwave-safe dish, combine the cherries and juice. Microwave on high until bubbling, about 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and salt and mix just until combined. Drain the reserved cherries, then add them and half of the broken chocolate cookies.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and set.
While the bars are still hot, sprinkle the milk chocolate bits over the surface. Allow to melt. Use the back of a spoon to spread the melted chocolate to cover the surface. Sprinkle with the broken graham crackers, marshmallows, pretzels, gummie worms, the remaining chocolate cookies and the pieces of fruit roll-ups. Allow to cool.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 520 calories; 150 calories from fat (29 percent of total calories); 17 g fat (9 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 65 mg cholesterol; 88 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 6 g fiber; 320 mg sodium.