Granite Kitchen: Sweet and spooky treats just in time for Halloween

When I was growing up, Halloween was much simpler: There were jack-o’-lanterns and thin cardboard decorations to hang on doors. Costumes came in boxes that made it easy to put away when trick-or-treating was over. Pillow cases were common candy-collection sacks — no need to spend extra money on a plastic pumpkin or fancy bag to carry your candy haul.

Today, Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in the country, second only to Christmas. In 2019, Americans spent about $9 billion on Halloween. This year, Halloween sales are projected to reach $10.6 billion.

But you don’t have to spend a fortune to create creepy Halloween treats. For example, some store-bought cinnamon rolls and a few drops of food coloring can be reimagined into a couple of dastardly dishes.

I pulled apart the rolls and rearranged them in a baking dish so they looked like squiggly intestines, then I brushed them with a little melted butter and baked it. To make a gooey, gory glaze, add several red food coloring drops to the frosting until you get a nice deep red color, then drizzle or brush it over the baked rolls.

You could also use a pie dish and arrange the rolls in to a more circular pattern to resemble a brain, then add a drop or two of black food coloring to the frosting to turn it a little grey, then brush that on the baked rolls.

You can turn doughnuts in to creepy, crawly spider stacks by tucking a doughnut hole in the center of a doughnut and adding legs. I used a chocolate doughnut hole on a glazed doughnut and added sparkly black frosting for the legs, but there’s plenty of room to get creative by switching the type of doughnut hole you use and altering the color of the frosting legs.

For a final treat, you can try dressing up a basic whoopie pie by adding orange or purple food coloring to the filling or by adding some sprinkles or colored sugar. I dipped the edges of mine in orange-colored sugar and it transformed the traditional treat in to a perfect Halloween party sweet with minimal effort.

Gory Cinnamon Rolls

• 2 12-ounce packages cinnamon rolls
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Red (or black) food coloring

Spray an 8-by-11-inch baking dish (or 9-inch pie dish if making a brain shape) with cooking spray, then pull apart the cinnamon rolls and rearrange them in the dish, creating folded shapes and bends.

Brush the top with melted butter, then bake according to package directions.

Transfer the frosting to a mixing bowl and add food coloring until you have reached the desired color. Drizzle or spread the frosting over the cinnamon rolls once they’re removed from the oven.

Spider Doughnuts

• 12 glazed doughnuts
• 12 chocolate doughnut holes
• .67 ounce tube of black frosting

Arrange the glazed doughnuts on a serving tray, leaving some space between each to apply the frosting.

Use the tube of frosting to add 4 black legs on each side of each doughnut. Set a doughnut hole in the center so it sits on the hole. Use the frosting to add 2 dots on the doughnut hole so they resemble eyeballs.

Halloween Whoopie Pies

• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup hot water

Filling:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 10-ounce container Marshmallow Fluff
• 3.25-ounce container colored sugar or sprinkles of choice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda to a bowl and whisk together.

Add the brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla to a separate bowl and beat together with an electric mixer until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until combined, then add the hot water and mix well.

Lightly spray a whoopie pie pan with nonstick cooking spray and add the batter to the pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out dry.

Transfer to cooling racks and cool to room temperature.

To make the filling, add the butter and powdered sugar to a bowl and cream together on low with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and Marshmallow Fluff, increase the speed and beat until light and fluffy.

To assemble, spread filling on the flat part of each whoopee pie, then roll the edges in colored sugar or sprinkles. Place the second whoopee pie on top and transfer to a serving platter.