🎃 Spooky & Delicious Halloween Recipes

A Danbury & Lovejoy Seasonal Special

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If you’re planning a cosy fright night at home, these spooky Halloween recipes are designed for a very British Halloween:
easy to shop for, simple to make, and just showy enough to impress small ghouls and grown-up guests.

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Enchanting Recipes for Fright Night

Three simple, crowd-pleasing ideas to anchor your Halloween table:

• Jack-o’Lantern Mini Pies – flaky pastry pumpkins with spiced filling
• Spooky Veggie Tray with Dip – a savoury break from the sweets
• Dirt Pudding Cups – chocolate, crumbs and gummy worms

Jack-o’Lantern Mini Pies

Golden, flaky pastry filled with silky pumpkin or spiced sweet-potato purée.
Use a small knife (or a steady hand and a glass of mulled cider) to carve tiny faces into the pastry before baking.

Ingredients

• Ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
• Pumpkin purée or mashed sweet potato
• Brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of ginger
• Egg beaten with a splash of cream (for glazing)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C).
2. Cut circles of pastry for the bases and slightly larger circles for the tops.
3. Mix the purée with sugar and spices to taste.
4. Spoon filling onto each base, then top with a circle of pastry.
5. Use a small sharp knife to cut jack-o’lantern faces into the tops.
6. Brush with the egg-and-cream glaze for that autumnal shine.
7. Bake 15–20 minutes until puffed and golden.

Serve warm with whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed pecans or biscuit crumbs.

Helpful Halloween baking kit

• Wilton-style skull cake tin
  – for larger spooky bakes.
• Vivid food colouring set
  – to give frostings and fillings eerie hues.

Spooky Veggie Tray with Dip

A clever savoury intermission amid the sugar storm. Use bell peppers carved like tiny pumpkins, cucumber ghosts and a
cauldron-black dip at the centre.

Ideas for spooky veg shapes

• Jack-o’lantern peppers: carve faces into orange peppers and fill with crudités.
• Cucumber ghosts: slice diagonally and dot with cream cheese “eyes”.
• Carrot fingers: trim into knobbly sticks with almond “nails”.

For the dip, stir smoked paprika and a little olive oil into hummus or black-bean dip for a murky, cauldron-style swirl.

Serving pieces that make it feel special

• Black slate serving board
  – a dramatic base for colourful vegetables.
• Reusable Halloween table décor set
  – webs, bats and pumpkins you can use year after year.

Dirt Pudding Cups

Layers of chocolate pudding, crushed biscuits and gummy worms – messy, theatrical and adored by all ages.
This is one of those easy Halloween recipes that looks more impressive than it is.

To make

1. Whisk instant chocolate pudding or make your favourite custard-style pud.
2. Crush chocolate biscuits or Oreos into “soil”.
3. Layer pudding and crumbs in clear cups.
4. Press in gummy worms and a biscuit “tombstone” on top.

Helpful gear

• Skull silicone moulds
  – for chocolate toppers or jelly skulls.
• Halloween cookie cutter set
  – pumpkins, bats, ghosts and more.
• Reusable clear pudding cups
  – to show off those creepy layers.

Bonus Halloween favourites for your kitchen

Add a few hard-working bits of kit to your Halloween box and reuse them every year:

• Halloween cupcake cases
  – orange-and-black liners for instant theme.
• Cobweb cake toppers
  – dress up even the simplest traybake.
• Halloween paper napkins
  – small effort, big effect.

Final tips from the D & L Kitchen

• Pair sweets with spiced drinks: mulled apple juice, cinnamon hot chocolate or pumpkin chai.
• Combine candlelight and cobwebs for a deliciously gloomy table.
• Let children (or mischievous adults) decorate their own pudding cups — less pressure, more laughter.
• And above all, remember: Halloween calories, like ghosts, don’t count.

For more cosy, seasonal cooking ideas, explore
The Kitchen & Larder
and our other autumn comfort recipes.