Lifestyle
How to Make a Spooky Halloween Board
Despite the constraints caused by COVID-19, I wanted to make my socially distant Halloween get together with friends memorable with a spooky snack board. This seasonal board is all treats (no tricks), featuring candy eyes, cheese and crackers, mummy mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, clementines, pretzel sticks, Oreo sandwich cookies, and an assortment of other candy and chips. Snack boards offer tons of room for creative freedom- don’t be afraid to make your creation your own.
Candy Eyes
I decided to begin by making candy eyes, in a recipe adapted from Forks and Beans. These vegan treats are quick to make and a fun alternative to store bought candy eyes. You’ll need powdered sugar (½ cup), cornstarch (½ teaspoon), honey (½ tablespoon), oatmilk (1 ½ teaspoon, add more as needed), and mini chocolate chips for these spooky candies.
Add the oat milk, cornstarch, honey, and powdered sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl and stir until combined. I started off using a fork, but ultimately decided to use my hands to help transform the ingredients from a lumpy consistency to a firm, sticky ball.
After reaching the ideal consistency described above, put the mixture into a piping bag (I used a ziplock bag with a small hole cut in the corner) and pipe small circles onto a cutting board.
They may not come out perfect, but you can help form the circles with your fingers. Once you’ve formed all your circles, place a mini chocolate chip in the center of each one. Place the candy eyes in your freezer for 2-3 hours to harden.
Mummy Mozzarella Sticks
As my candy eyes were hardening in the freezer, I began making an easy, low ingredient addition to my Halloween board: mummy mozzarella sticks, which I adapted from a recipe from Love on a Plate. All you’ll need is 1 can of crescent roll dough, 4 pieces of string cheese, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and 2 cloves of garlic.
To begin, preheat your oven to 350℉. As your oven preheats, open the crescent roll can. Roll out the dough and cut it into 16 rectangles.
Unwrap four cheese sticks and cut them twice- once across and once lengthwise. You should end up with 16 pieces of cheese. Place a stick in the middle of each rectangle. Next, cut thin, horizontal strips in the dough, on either side of the cheese.
Once you’ve cut into the dough, you can take the slivers you’ve created and wrap them around the cheese, creating a mummy effect.
After you’ve wrapped your mummies, finely chop your garlic and add it to two tablespoons of melted butter. Spread the mixture on the top of your mozzarella sticks- you can use as little or as much as you’d like. Bake the mummy mozzarella sticks for ten to twelve minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Board Assembly
Upon completing your mummy mozzarella sticks and candy eyes, you can begin assembling your Halloween board! I used a lazy susan to display my work, but you can use any service dish or cutting board. Again, a snack board allows for creativity- feel free to adapt your own to your own tastes. I began my board by placing the mummy mozzarella sticks on a section of my serving platter, placing a candy eye on each one.
Additionally, I filled up a small bowl with marinara sauce for dipping. Next, I created clementine “pumpkins” by peeling the fruits and placing half a pretzel stick in the center of each one. I used the leftover pretzel sticks to create Oreo “spiders:" I disassembled the cookie, stuck three pretzel stick halves in either side of the cookie, and put the top cookie back on the sandwich after placing the pretzel "legs". To complete the look, I added candy eyes to each spider.
I filled the rest of the Halloween board with candy and chips, using snickers, cheese and crackers, and "skeleton" Cheetos to fill in any empty spaces. Use your own favorite candies and snack foods for a personalized flair. Your Halloween board is sure to impress your family and friends, adding spooky tastiness to any socially distanced holiday get together.