Visit the Great Sacandaga Lake - The Best Kept Secret in the Adirondacks

This one makes a great center piece for your table as well as a handy punch bowl! Use a black marker to paint a jack-o-lantern face on the front, you'll need this pumpkin whole!

The punch recipe is a good one that can be used in any type punch bowl, you can find all kinds of Halloween themed punch bowls at this time of year, even a ceramic pumpkin which will last year after year!

INGEDIENTS
1 hollowed and well cleaned pumpkin
2 oranges
Whole cloves
6 cups apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/4 cups pineapple juice

Use a medium to large sized pumpkin, gut it out and carefully scrap the inside until it is smooth and clean. You'll be using this for your punch bowl. Using a black marker, draw a Jack-O-Lantern face on it. Set aside until the punch is ready. Add ice to the punch when filled, this will keep the punch cold and help preserve the pumpkin until the party is over.

Can't find a blood bank for some real Vampire Punch? Then try my recipe for something equally as tasty with a nice autumn spice flavor! It's great for a party or even Thanksgiving dinner.

INGREDIENTS
1 chilled 25.4-ounce bottle sparkling cider (about 3 1/4 cups)
1 chilled 1-quart bottle cranberry juice cocktail
1 chilled 1-liter bottle club soda or seltzer water
1 cup dark rum if desired For Spice Syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
3 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS
Make spice syrup:
In a small saucepan bring syrup ingredients to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Let syrup cool. Syrup can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, kept in a covered container or bottle.

In a punch bowl combine Punch ingredients and strain syrup through a fine sieve or cheese cloth into punch. Stir punch and add lots of ice. Makes about 13 cups.

TIP
Dress the punch bowl up with some decorative ice shapes. You can use food grade plastic gloves to freeze ice for floating hands. Gloves are available at restaurant supply stores, are made of clear plastic and have no talc on them like latex gloves do. Fill with water or colored water, juice, etc. and freeze. When hard, remove glove and float in your punch bowl! You can also look at specialty stores for ball shaped ice cube trays. Fill with cranberry juice and they become floating blood clots.

Edible Eyeballs
from http://jas.familyfun.go.com
Set out a platter of these creepy peepers, and your Halloween party guests are bound to do a double take.

DIRECTIONS
Simply slice carrots into 1-inch-thick chunks, top each with a blob of cream cheese and one half of a pitted black olive, and serve.

1/4 C butter
1 pkg. (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 C butterscotch chips
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
4 C rice crispies cereal
Chow Mein noodles and red hot candies

Cover baking sheet with waxed paper. Combine butter, chocolate & butterscotch chips in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the chips are melted and the mix is well-blended. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter and mix well. Add the cereal, and stir to coat.

Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet. Insert the chow mein noodles for legs, and add red hot candies for eyes.

Heat 2 inches of water to simmering, not boiling, in the bottom of a double boiler.

Place the white chocolate chips in the smaller pot and set it over the pot of simmering water. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate is fully melted. Remove from the heat.

Cover 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper.

Arrange the wooden sticks on the waxed paper, 6 to a sheet.

Spoon ghost-shaped blobs of chocolate onto the paper, partially covering each stick. Press 2 candies into each ghost for eyes.

Freeze ghosts for 15 minutes, or until hard.

Tempting Toenail Truffles

Recipe By : Creepy Cuisine, Lucy Munroe

3 ounces semisweet chocolate
9 ounces pretzel nuggets
12 ounces beer nuts

Carefully remove the thin sugar shells from the beer nuts and set aside. Heat 2 inches
of water to simmering, not boiling, in the bottom of a double boiler. Place the chocolate
in the smaller pot and set it over the simmering water. Stir until the chocolate melts.

When the chocolate is melted, remove the small pan from the heat. Carefully insert a
toothpick into each pretzel nugget, then dip the nugget into the melted chocolate. Be
sure your pretzel (toe) is completely covered. Place 1 sugar shell (toenail) on the end of
each toe. Place on waxed paper to cool and repeat with as many toes as you desire.
Makes 4 to 6 feet.

Grease sides of medium mixing bowl. Combine noodles and marshmallows in greased bowl.

Microwave chocolate chips in glass measuring cup or bowl. Stir every 30 seconds or so until chips are melted.

Put a little oil on hands and shape into 6 balls. Place on wax paper and cool in refrigerator until chocolate is hardened.

Bloody Bug Juice
Recipe By : Creepy Cuisine, Lucy Munroe

24 ounces frozen strawberries -- thawed
6 ounces lemonade, frozen concentrate --

1 quart ginger ale
1 cup raisins
1 cup blueberries -- fresh or frozen

Place the strawberries in a bowl and mash with a fork. In a large pitcher, mix the
strawberry mash, lemonade and ginger ale. Place handfuls of raisins and blueberries
(bugs) into tall glasses. Pour the liquid over the bugs, then sit back and watch the bugs
and scum rise to the top of each glass. To quench a creepy crowd's thirst, double or triple
this recipe and serve in a punch bowl. Drape some gummy worms over the rim of your
bowl for a particularly swampy-looking effect!

1/4 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups POST Cocoa, Fruity or CINNA-CRUNCH PEBBLES Cereal
1 cup PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts
2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1 cup candy corn
1 cup candy-coated chocolate pieces

PREHEAT oven to 300°F. Place syrup, butter and cinnamon in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min.; stir until butter is completely melted. Add cereal and peanuts; mix lightly. Spread into lightly greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

BAKE 30 min., stirring after 15 min. Cool completely. Break into pieces; place in large bowl.

ADD marshmallows and candies; mix lightly. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

8 servingslettuce leaves
1 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing
2 cups assorted cut-up fresh vegetables, such as bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, snow peas, mushroom slices, celery sticks, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets

LINE small bowl with lettuce leaves; fill with dressing. Place near one end of a large serving platter.

ARRANGE vegetables in a skeleton shape on platter, using the bowl as the head of the skeleton.

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix, any flavor (plus those ingredients listed on back of package)
1 16oz can ready-made vanilla frosting (or any color)
black food coloring to mix with the frosting
black licorice lace (for whiskers and tail)
red gum drops or cherry balls (two per cupcake for eyes)
chocolate chips (one per cupcake, unless you want more than one nose)
dime -sized flat, round mint wafers (two per cupcake for ears)
OPTIONAL: small tube of ready-made red decorating frosting

Directions:
Follow the directions on the package to bake the cupcakes.
When cupcakes are done cooling:

Find a pipe cleaner, and make into rectangle, but leave two open spaces make one for each cupcake!!!
Decorate rat and have fun! (Don't forget the kids, I sure they would love to decorate them)

Witch's Warty Fingers
Thanks to Ashley for sending this in
http://www.dltk-kids.com

Ingredients:
crunchy pretzel sticks
Vanilla frosting
chocolate sprinkles

Great for an afternoon in the kitchen with the children. Let them decorate to their heart's content once this giant cookie has cooled down.

1 pkg. (18 oz.) Nestlé® Toll House® Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Bar Dough
Decorator candies and icing (optional)
Melted chocolate (optional)

3. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; carefully loosen cookie with spatula. Cool completely on baking sheet on wire rack.

Shrunken Heads
http://www.bhg.com

Ingredients
8 medium apples
8 wooden craft sticks
Butter
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, or peanuts
21 ounces (about 75) vanilla caramels or chocolate caramels, unwrapped
3 tablespoons water
6 ounces vanilla-flavor candy coating
2 teaspoons shortening
Desired candies for decoration, such as licorice, candy corn, gumdrops, candy-coated chocolate pieces (optional)
Tubes of writing gel decorating icing
Canned frosting

Directions
1. Wash and dry apples. Remove stems. Insert one wood stick into the stem end of each apple. Place apples on a buttered baking sheet. Place chopped nuts in a shallow dish; set aside.

2. In a heavy medium saucepan, heat and stir the caramels and water over medium-low heat just until caramels are melted.

3. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture, spooning caramel evenly over apple. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Briefly set bottoms of apples in chopped nuts. Set apples on prepared baking sheet and let stand about 30 minutes or until firm.

4. In a heavy, small saucepan, heat and stir the vanilla-flavor candy coating and shortening over low heat just until mixture is melted. Holding apples over the saucepan, spoon the melted candy coating evenly over the tops of the caramel-coated apples. Return to baking sheet and let stand about 30 minutes or until firm.

5. Decorate the apples to resemble faces or monsters using desired candies and writing gel. Use writing gel or canned frosting to attach candies to dipped apples. Makes 8 medium apples.

Spooky Cheesecake
http://www.bhg.com

Ingredients
3 ounces vanilla-flavored candy coating
Orange food coloring paste
1 8-ounce container frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed
1 purchased frozen cheesecake, thawed (1 pound, 14 ounces)
Small, multicolored decorative Halloween candies

Directions
1. In a small saucepan melt candy coating. Add orange food coloring to desired shade. Transfer to a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet. Spread to an 11x8-inch rectangle. Chill in refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes). Break into small shards. Set aside.

2. Reserve 1/2 cup of dessert topping; set aside. Pipe or spread remaining topping over surface of cheesecake. Sprinkle with Halloween candies. Attach shards of candy coating to the sides of cheesecake with reserved dessert topping. Cover loosely; chill up to 2 hours. Makes 12 servings.