Halloween ushers in the candy season, but this trick-or-treat time the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has developed some kid-friendly, fun confectionary-free treats that won’t leave kids or parents saying “boo.” With Halloween lending itself to spiders, witches, and ghosts, the CMAB has come up with “spooky” recipes using Real California dairy products.
Real California dairy products add rich, complex flavors and textures to foods, so whether hosting a Halloween party or just looking for fun foods to celebrate the spooktacular season, here are some recommendations from CMAB:
- Toasted Ghosts: Frightfully good. Choose your favorite cheese such as Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Colby or Swiss and cut into a ghost-like shape with a cookie cutter. Place the cut-out cheese on two slices of bread and toast, open-faced under the broiler.
- Eyeball Salad: Ghoulish and gooey! Create a bed of spinach topped with bocconcini (small mozzarella balls) cut in half, decorated with sliced olives for pupils and ketchup lines to look “blood shot.” Use a tomato or red bell pepper strip to create a mouth.
- Pumpkin Shake: Spice up the season by blending milk with canned pumpkin, orange juice, honey and pumpkin pie spices; serve in a tall glass topped with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.
- Spider Web Pizza: A boo-tiful and delicious dish. Using pre-baked pizza crust, spread pizza sauce evenly. Create a web pattern made with string cheese and bake until bubbly and golden brown. Decorate with a black olive “spider.”
- Cottage Cheese Brain: Frankenstein beware! Mix blueberries, diced strawberries and chopped nuts with cottage cheese, form into two lobes of a “brain” on a plate or platter.
- Frozen Ghost Pops: For a ghostly delicious frozen treat try freezing vanilla yogurt in traditional popsicle-shaped molds. Once frozen, remove yogurt popsicles and design faces made with licorice or black jelly beans.
- Witch Sticks: Spear cheese cubes of any flavor with chunks of pepperoni or salami on funHalloween picks – a snack on a stick befitting any ghost or goblin!
Source: The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB)