Our Favorite Halloween Recipes

If you're looking to scare up some serious fun on Halloween, the best way to any goblin or ghoul's heart is through his or her stomach. Buying Halloween candy is one way to do it, but a more satisfying option is to serve a curated menu of festive appetizers and finger foods, as well as deeply satisfying entrées that can keep guests of all ages happily full all evening long.

Some of our very best Halloween recipes are extremely creative, and, when plated properly, can feel like they've been concocted in the depths of a mad scientist's lab. Even those who skipped costumes and trick-or-treating will enjoy a rich eggplant and tahini dip or a dish of baked rice and squash. If you're hosting adult revelers, you'll be pleased to know that we're also sharing thematic cocktailsthat are anything but routine—our Garden-of-Evil Punch recipe, pictured here, will quench thirst all night long. It's a classic-yet-grown-up version of a fruit punch, and added embellishments like edible hibiscus leaves earn you serious presentation points. Whatever the nature of your Halloween bash, these recipes are sure to delight and entertain.

After you've decked the halls with the spooky touches that make your home feel like a ghostly retreat, prep a few fun activities for lively mortals to enjoy—it's a great preamble to any formal seated dinner you have in mind (these menus should help you plan it out, by the way). And if you're looking to keep it informal as possible, serve a handful of our favorite Halloween recipes and watch as spirits near and far come back for more.

Warm Black-and-Blue Cheese Dip

Cream cheese, blue cheese, and heavy cream come together with garlic and Worcestershire sauce to make a rich dip that all the ghosts and ghouls will want to sample.

Spider Cookies

Tell guests to watch out for the black widow spiders—they're made of raspberry gummies and black licorice and they top these spooky spins on the classic black-and-white cookies.

Black-Tahini and Eggplant Dip

This fresh take on baba ganoush is as dark as night—especially when it's served alongside homemade grissini, which is tinted black with squid ink and shaped like Medusa's hair.

Bedeviled Eggs

Putting a sinister face on party food takes nothing more than some simple sleight of hand—and a bit of heat. Mix up deviled eggs using your favorite recipe, and add a dash of cayenne and some hot sauce for kick. Then bring them to life with pointed facial features: Triangles of red bell pepper and dark green scallions make horns and a goatee; snipped chives form a skinny 'stache.

Dark and Swampy Cocktail

A classic Dark and Stormy gets a visit from the swamp monster—in the form of spirulina powder! Simply whisk together a few ingredients and pour it over a ginger ale base for a fizzy cocktail that you can serve all night long.

Sinister Salsa: Guacamole with Black Beans

Is that pebbly sludge, dredged up from a nearby swamp, or creamy guacamole studded with black beans and minced chiles? Only a bite—or two—will reveal the true tastiness in the bowl.

Spinach Ricotta Skulls

You'd never guess these tiny green skulls are actually quite wholesome for a Halloween party. They are cut from a baked custard of spinach, basil, and ricotta cheese, then arranged on crisp wafer crackers.

Morbid Miniature French Onion Soups

Individual servings of French onion soup are sufficiently satisfying for Halloween revelers with more refined tastes. Morbier cheese, which has a veinlike stripe of vegetable ash down the center, makes a more suitably morbid topping than the traditional gruyere.

Shriveled Potatoes with Romesco Sauce

Not all Halloween-party food has to be in a scary shape or color—some dishes hint more subtly at the macabre theme, like these shriveled baby potatoes.

Raven's Nest Cake

Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's infamous bird, your guests will rave about this decadent cake's topper. It's made with an edible "nest" of piped melted chocolate that is chilled in vodka, where it instantly hardens; toasted cake crumbles stand in for actual dirt, and underneath the vanilla buttercream frosting is a treat-worthy chocolate cake.

Squeamish Squash with Rice

For a rice dish of powerful trouble, add butternut squash to the boil and bubble.

Cured Epidermis

On Halloween, creative presentation turns prosciutto slices into delightfully eerie horror d'oeuvres.

Spiderweb Eggs

It may look like a swarm of spiders got into the henhouse, but these eggs are another Halloween hoax.

Vampire Vodka Cocktail

Fit for Dracula himself! Sweet homemade grenadine serves as the "blood" in this inspired Halloween cocktail.

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

A cheesy Halloween pastry is eerily easy to prepare. All you need are sheets of frozen puff pastry and some savory seasonings.

Guacamoldy with Creature Chips

Make the most of avocado's mold-colored hue by serving it alongside chips cut into a creepy shape.

Goblin Flatbreads

Would you care for a horror d'oeuvre? Goblin flatbreads make grown-ups' cocktail hour or kids' snack time frightfully tasty.

Eye-Popping Soup

A bowl of hot tomato soup will leave you cold if it stares back.

Sinister Spread

Set out scrumptious snacks in eerie ebony and orange shades.

Grilled Cheese Sand-Witches with Celery Broomsticks

Playful witches' hats add a frightfully festive touch to grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ladies' Fingers and Men's Toes

These fingers and toes make look ghastly, but they're delicious pretzel-like digits with almond nails.

Petrified Cheese Log

Serve something that looks as if it's been festering in the pantry for months, even if it is really fresh and delicious.

Halloween Brownies

Give everyones favorite chocolatey treat a frightening finish, decorate them with royal icing webs and mummys with candy eyes.