2 pkg. Caramels, 14oz each
1/4 c Water
8 Medium Apples

In crock pot, combine caramels and water. Cover and cook on high for 1
to 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently. Wash and dry apples. Insert stick into stem end of each apple. Turn control on low. Dip apple into hot caramel and turn to coat entire surface. Holding apple above pot, scrape off excess accumulation of caramel from bottom apple. Place on greased wax paper to cool. Makes 8.

Wormy Apples

1 package caramel apple mix
8 apples
4 bottles brown chocolate sprinkles.
 8 or more gummy worms
4 plastic drinking straws cut in half

With a small knife or a very clean screwdriver, poke a hole in the side of the apple large enough to insert a piece of  drinking straw deep enough so it won't come out when done coating the apple. Caramel must be warn but not extremely hot or it "might" melt the straw? Do not use paper straws!

Prepare caramel apples according to package directions or recipe  or your own recipe.

 As each is done, roll it in brown chocolate sprinkles  while still warm.
Take out the straw and insert the gummy worm.
If you want to stick a gummy worm on the outside also you can.

Place on individual plates and cool either room temperature for several hours or in the refrigerator.

Dirt
Dessert

1 Large container of Cool Whip

1 Pkg. Instant Vanilla Pudding

8 oz. Cream Cheese

1 Large Bag of Oreo Cookies

Gummie Worms or Bugs of your choice!

Thaw Cool Whip. Let cream cheese rach room temperature (it's gotta be real soft). Make the vanilla pudding according to package directions. Mix in the cream cheese with pudding, using a mixer.  Do this a little at a time until smooth. In a blender, crush the Oreo cookies into a fine mixture. Approximately 5-6 at a time is best.  Repeat until all the cookies are crushed.

IN a large bowl or pan or some use a new flowerpot washed out (preferable ceramic) put a layer of crushed Oreo Cookie as evenly as possible.  Then a layer of creamy mixture as evenly as possible.  Repeat this alternation until all the creamy mixture and cookies are done.  But make sure you end up with the Oreos as the top layer.  Decorate with gumi worms or bugs.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Approx: 7-10

Ideas:  I've also sprinkled chocolate sprinkles and chocolate covered raisins on top to make a dirt, rock texture. 

Use your imagination! :)

Taffy Apple

Pizza

      1 Pkg. 20 oz  refrigerated Sugar
           Cookie Dough
      3 Tablespoons Flour
      1 Pkg. 8oz Cream Cheese softened
    1/4 Cup  Creamy Peanut Butter
    1/2 Cup  Brown sugar
    1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
      2  Medium Granny Smith apples
      1 c  Lemon Lime soda
           Cinnamon
    1/4 c  Caramel Ice Cream topping
    1/2 c  Chopped Peanuts
 
  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove 1/2 cup of cookie
  dough and reserve for another use.

Add flour to  remaining dough and knead with hands to combine. 
Press  dough into 14 inch circle on 15 inch baking stone.
Bake for 15-20 min.  or until cookie is lightly browned. 
Let cool for 10 min. then loosen from stone.
Cool completly. 
Blend cream cheese, peanut butter,  brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. 
Spread on cooled cookie. peel, core and slice apples.
Dip apple slices in lemon-lime soda to prevent browning.
Arrange apple slices on cream cheese mixture.
Sprinkle  lightly with cinnamon.
Heat caramel topping slightly  and drizzle over apples.
Sprinkle chopped nuts over  pizza. 
Cut and serve.
Makes: 12

Caramel Dip
For Apple Slices

1 stick butter
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. white syrup
1 Can Eagle Brand- Milk
Apples - sliced for dipping

Melt butter.  Add brown sugar, white syrup, and the Eagle Brand Milk.  Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Keeps well in refrigerator.  

To use, microwave a few seconds the amount needed.

Apple Smile (or Fang) Teeth

Eye of Newt Hor D'oeuvres  Ingredients

1. Reserve 48 Olive Slices and 48 Pieces of Red Peppers. Also reserve 1 TblSp.  Cream Cheese.

2. Chop the remaining olives.

3. Combine the remaining cream cheese, olives, red peppers and garlic in a small bowl and mix well.

4. Spread about 2 TblSp. of this cream cheese mixture on each of the tortillas. Then top each tortilla with 2 slices of beef. (It's ok if you overlap).
Roll up the tortillas in the jellyroll style.  Trim off the uneven ends.  (Throw out)  Then slice each tortilla into 6 pieces about 3/4 inch in width.

5. Using the cream cheese you still have, stick on the reserved olives and put a red pepper in the center to make the roll ups look like eyes.

Makes: 4 Dozen

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. 

2. Using one dough strip (for each hot dog) wrap the dough around the hot dog so it looks like mummy strips.  But DO NOT wrap the entire dog. Leave a little room on top for the had to pop out!

3.  (I take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper to prevent the bottoms from burning. )Then.... Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

4.  Once cooked, then place two mustard dots on the top that sticks out (aka the head) for eyes.  It's easier if you dip a toothpick in the mustard to make these dots. You might have to do it more than once. But at least you won't get one giant blob!

5. In the center, place a poppy seed for the pupils of the eyes. Then take some ketchup and draw an evil mouth.

Note: If you want to make these smaller, more like  Hor D'oeuvres then use 1 package of the mini-hot dogs (16 oz.).  And instead of using the entire breadstick dough, cut it into three pieces. Use one strip for each mini-dog and bake and decorate as I said above.

These can be individual for each guest or used for decoration.  If you make them with Jell-O.  Or you can make one to put in the center of a punch bowl.

Ingredients

Using Jell-O:

1. Mix according to the directions. Then pour the mixture into the new, clean and washed rubber glove. Tie with a rubber band at the end tightly and place in a bowl and set in the refrigerator to get firm. 

2.  If you want, you can use masking tape and arrange the fingers in the bowl to be in the shape you wish.  Do this for each guest.

Using for Punch:

1.  You can either fill the clean, rubber glove with plain water and freeze it to put in the center of the punch bowl. Or... you can fill it with orange juice or something else that will go along with your punch.  Afterwards then put it as your chilling center punch bowl presentation.

Whatever you do...once the hands are frozen or set:

1.  If you're using Jell-O carefully  cut a few slits and then peel off the rubber glove.

2.  If you've frozen the glove then you might have to run it under some lukewarm water for 10 seconds before you cut and peel the glove off.

Makes as many as you want!

Tip:  If you want really monster hands, for the Jell-O hands afterwards you can use the honey (or corn syrup) + red food coloring recipe in the bloody glasses (above recipe) to tip the ends of the fingers and even apply some long pointy almonds to the ends to give the hand some claws!

Bone Cookies  Ingredients

Preheat Oven to 220F

1. Line one or two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Trust me, this is worth it!

2.  Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Then, gradually add the sugar-salt mixture in. Beat consistently while you do this after each addition.  Beat until you get stiff peaks and shiny and smooth meringue.  Add the flavoring and beat until combined.

3.  Fill the piping bag with the meringue.  Pipe a log 3" or 4" long. Then pipe 2 balls on one end. Then do the same for the other end. Smooth out any peaks that you may have created with your fingers.. (We don't want bone spurs!)

4.  Repeat this until you have used up the mixture and made all your bones.

5.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes and then turn off the heat!  Leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Do not open the oven door! I repeat, DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! (They could lose their puff and go flat.)

6. The next morning, gently remove them from the sheets. I highly recommend those very thin spatulas.

Note: If you want your bones to look a little more old and yellowed, then you can do one of two things:

(a) Add some yellow to the mixture for yellowing.
(b) Mix red and green food coloring till you get brown. Then add a bit of that to the mixture.

Makes:  24 Bones

Black Widow Spider Cakes Ingredients

1.  Prepare the pudding mix as directed, dying it very bright green!

2.  Put the pudding mix in a freezer bag. Then with scissors snip off a corner making a small hole.  Insert a round piping tip in this hole. (You might have to tape it if you got your hole too big?)

3.  Your cupcakes should be cool!!!  Whether you made them or bought them, they should be cool.  Now turn one  upside down. And poke a hole in the bottom of the cupcake with a toothpick. Now take out the toothpick and insert the piping tip into the hole and gently , slowly, squeeze some of the red  pudding into the cupcake.  Repeat this with all the cupcakes.

(Why red pudding? Because Black Widows eat their mates and she should be full of blood! Oooooooh.)   :)

4.  Now after they're all stuffed with the red pudding, frost the tops and sides. Place each frosted cupcake in the metal cupcake tin.

Note: The cupcake tins can be solid. But for a better effect of a spider web, I usually cut holes in them to make them look more web-like.  If you can't find metallic ones, use Halloween cupcake tins.

5.  Now we've got our cakes frosted and snug in their little cupcake webs (holders) right? Now is the time to decorate!

6.  Place your licorice sticks on the sides of the cupcakes for the legs.

7.  Put two red cinnamon candies (or M& Ms if you couldn't find any) on for the eyes.

Note: If you want to be authentic, you can die the pudding green, instead of red. Why? Because spiders ooze green blood when they are bitten or sliced. Too Gross, huh?

Makes 20 Spider Cakes

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add this to the cream mixture.

Divide the dough into fourths. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

Work with one piece of dough at a time. Roll this into 1 inch balls and start to shape this into 3" x 1/2" finger shapes. Take a flat tip of a butter knife and press an indentation on one end (for the fingernails). Then with the knife, make a few slashes in the middle of the finger to give the essence of the knuckles! 

Place these 2" apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. (I like to use parchment paper on my sheets to help prevent burning on the bottoms and easier cleanup btw.)  

Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then cool 5 minutes.

In the meantime, squeeze a small amount of red gel on the nail bed indentation you made. Then press a sliced almond into it to give the look of a fingernail.  Remove from the cookie sheet onto wire racks to cool.

Makes: 5 dozen.

Fill 12 greased or (preferred this) paper-lined jumbo muffin tins 3/4 full.
Bake at 250F for 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes before removing from the pans to a wire rack or cooling plate.

While they're cooling, in a saucepan cook the caramels and milk on low heat until smooth. Spread this over the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with the pecans.
Insert a wooden Popsicle stick into the center of each cupcake for the look of a caramel apple.

Makes: 1 dozen jumbo cakes.

Just before serving, cut the top of the bread off. Scoop out the bread from the inside, leaving a 1/2 inch shell. (Save the bread inside for another use.)  Fill the shell with the cream cheese mixture and serve with veggies, crackers or chips.

Note: You can serve this in a real pumpkin if you clean it out, rinse it out and line it with saran wrap carefully before pouring the dip into it.