Halloween Cookies - classic black

My favorite sugar cookie recipe is only improved by some cool cookie cutters and food dye. I highly recommend using black paste to color your dough. The paste is concentrated and assures a dark, sinister, black cookie dough, without too much hassle. Glass or metal mixing bowls and an apron are also a good idea, since this stuff stains.

White icing is a great contrast, and shows up well in black light. Yes, we do spend time thinking about how we'll light our food (sometimes with sad results - see Brain Jello Mould post). I'm a firm believer that food that lends itself to the general theatrics of Halloween should be showcased.

Black spiderweb cookies with white icing look fantastic, and the black makes a nice background for a pumpkin cookie iced in orange.

Epicurious.com's Gingerbread Skeleton Cookies

Incorporate your non-Halloween cookie cutters, and take a look at the gingerbread skeleton cookie recipe at Epicurious.com. Inspired to be a bit more gruesome than usual in my baking one year, I did something similar with black dough and a fish cookie cutter for our pirate themed party.

Halloween Cookies - fingers

A good shortbread recipe and some nuts become creepy fingers for nibbling. An online search will turn up several recipes, but this one at Allrecipes.com is one I typically use.

Be creative with your substitutes - jam instead of red food coloring, or pistachios (rather than almonds) for extra nasty fingernails. Don't leave out the knuckle details - they add to the gross factor!

The serving presentation is another opportunity for creativity - I envision these on a lab-white plate with raspberry sauce drizzled suggestively around the edges...

Food for Mad Scientists

Gross and edible... the jello brain. We tried different colors and presentations. The blue brain was lit from a tube/stand below the glass plate. The pool underneath the brain is a nice effect, but is indeed slightly melted jello... beware the hot light bulb! A bit of milk added to the liquid of the jello mix gives the brain more opaqueness.

The year we planned the Mad Scientist Lab, we went looking for this jello mold, and found it at a local toy shop. I've seen them online as well.



We found additional edible body parts by poking around at various discount stores. Bags of foil wrapped chocolate eyes, ears, etc. filled a small plastic cauldron.

Canning jars, glass beakers and stainless steel trays make nice serving pieces. And a liberal sprinkling of rubber rats around the food didn't seem to scare off snackers! American Science and Surplus has been a favorite and affordable prop supplier for years for lab equipment and more. Their collection of odds and ends is inspiring!