SCARY GOOD

Frankenstein fingers Halloween pretzels These pretzel treats inspired by Frankenstein's monster are easy — just melt some white chocolate with food coloring, and dip away. The secret to getting a good coating is using a tall, narrow drinking glass to guide the chocolate up the pretzel rod and using its edge to wipe away excess coating. — Meghan Splawn, TheKitchn.

com Yield: 24 Ingredients ■ 1 (11-ounce) bag white chocolate chips, about 2 1⁄4 cups ■ 3 drops red food coloring (optional) ■ 3 drops green food coloring (optional) ■ 24 pretzel rods ■ 1⁄4 cup toasted almond slivers or 1 (1-ounce) package candy eyes Directions Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring in 30-second intervals, until melted, 2 to 2 1⁄2 minutes total. Stir in the red and green food coloring, if using, to dye the white chocolate dark green.



Pour the melted chocolate into a tall drinking glass. Dip each pretzel rod into the glass of melted white chocolate and twirl to coat, being sure to cover about 2⁄3 of the rod (but leaving some pretzel uncovered as a handle). Remove the pretzel, gently shaking to remove excess, and transfer to prepared sheet.

Add an almond sliver or candy eye to each pretzel at its very tip to resemble a fingernail or monster. Mummy baked brie Servings: 6 to 8 This kid-friendly recipe only takes about a half-hour start to finish and includes a seasonal and super-easy homemade cranberry jam. I brought it to life with candy eyes, but you also could use pecans or small slices of apple topped with raisins or dried cranberries.

— Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Ingredients ■ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter ■ 1 shallot, peeled and finely minced ■ 1 cup fresh cranberries, rinsed ■ Juice and zest of 1 orange ■ 3 tablespoons sugar ■ Pinch of sea salt ■ 1 8-ounce wheel of French-style brie ■ 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed ■ Egg wash, for baking Directions Prepare cranberry jam: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add minced shallot and cook until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add cranberries to pan along with orange juice, sugar and a pinch of salt.

Mix to combine, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until cranberries explode and mixture gets jammy, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice brie in half horizontally, and set the top half aside. Spread cranberry jam on the bottom half of the brie.

Replace the top half of the brie so that the jam is covered. Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch square. Place brie in the center of the dough and make two cuts on both long sides of the dough, from the brie to the edges, to create even thirds.

Fold the middle piece on each edge over the brie. (It will be mostly covered with dough.) Now the fun part! Cut 1⁄2-inch-wide strips into the short sides of the dough, from the brie to the edges.

Gently stretch the strips over the top of the dough in a crisscross pattern so it looks like mummy wrappings. Tuck any loose ends under the pastry. Transfer the wrapped brie to the parchment-covered baking tray.

Brush the pastry with egg wash and place in hot oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it's golden brown. Add large edible eyes, and serve warm (and gooey) with sliced apples, toasted baguette, crackers, dried fruit, nuts and any leftover cranberry jam.

Halloween deviled eggs Take a break from the candy with these savory and spooky Halloween deviled eggs. The "trick" with these is that they all use the same filling recipe, so you can save your energy for decorating. Bonus: Decorating the eggs makes for a fun activity for the kids.

— Maria Do, TheKitchn.com Yield: 24 deviled eggs For the deviled eggs: ■ 12 large eggs ■ 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise ■ 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ■ 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt ■ 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper For decoration (each style decorates 6 deviled eggs): ■ Yellow mummies: 12 capers ■ Purple one-eyed monsters: 6 black or green olive slices plus purple food coloring ■ Orange pumpkins: 2 chives plus orange food coloring ■ Green spider's nest: 1⁄4 teaspoon poppy or black sesame seeds plus green food coloring Make the eggs: Place eggs in a large saucepan and add enough cool water to cover the eggs by at least an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Remove the pan from the heat. Cover and let eggs sit for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the decorations and an ice-water bath.

Chop chives into 1⁄2-inch pieces to create stems for the pumpkin decorations. Make an ice-water bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a work surface.

Gently tap each egg on the counter to crack the shell in a few places. Place in the ice-water bath for at least 1 minute. Peel the eggs.

Cut each egg in half lengthwise. Carefully squeeze the egg yolks into a medium bowl. Use your fingers to wipe out any residual yolk in the whites.

Arrange the whites cut-side up in a single layer on a serving platter. Mash the yolks with a fork until completely crumbled. Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.

Mash into a smooth paste. Taste and season with more kosher salt as needed. Decorate the eggs : Mummies: Transfer 1⁄4 cup of the yolk mixture to a small zip-close or piping bag.

Cut 1⁄2 inch off one bottom corner of the zipclose bag or 1⁄2 inch from the bottom point of the piping bag. Pipe the filling into 6 of the egg white shells. Smooth the filling by gently pressing on it with your fingers.

Top each mound of filling with 2 capers to make eyeballs. Scoop 3 more tablespoons of the yolk mixture into a separate bag and snip a 1⁄4-inch opening. Pipe zigzag lines across the eggs to "wrap" the mummy.

Purple one-eyed monsters: Scoop 1⁄4 cup of the yolk mixture into a small bowl. Add a drop of purple food coloring and mix until fully combined, adding more coloring as needed until purple. Spoon the filling into 6 of the egg white shells.

Smooth the filling by gently pressing on it with your fingers. Top each mound of filling with 1 olive slice for an eyeball. Orange pumpkins: Scoop 1⁄4 cup of the yolk mixture into a small bowl.

Add a drop of orange food coloring and mix until fully combined, adding more coloring as needed until orange. Spoon the filling into 6 of the egg white shells. Smooth the filling by gently pressing on it with your fingers.

Run the tines of a fork down the filling from top to bottom to create pumpkin ridges. Place a chopped chive at the top of the filling to make a stem. Green spider's nest: Scoop 1⁄4 cup of the yolk mixture into a small bowl.

Add a drop of green food coloring and mix until fully combined, adding more coloring as needed until green. Spoon the filling into 6 of the egg white shells. Smooth the filling by gently pressing on it with your fingers.

Top the filling with poppy or black sesame seeds. Get local news delivered to your inbox!.