The Best Halloween Food Magazine Stories, If You Dare

There are certain holidays that really make you want to get in the kitchen and start cooking. Thanksgiving, obviously. Christmas, Hanukkah, and Easter all have their own special food traditions. Even big days like Super Bowl Sunday and the Fourth of July can inspire feats of culinary greatness (or at least a great seven-layer dip).

But Halloween? Is that really a culinary celebration? Who among us has actually ever thought, “Halloween’s coming soon! What am I going to cook?”

To us, Halloween “cooking” involves dumping a bag of mini candy bars into a plastic pumpkin. Or maybe a caramel apple, if we’re feeling really ambitious.

But each year, October food magazines come up with more and more intricate (and inventive! And impressive!) ideas for Halloween cuisine, from creepy cocktails and ghoulish goodies to more surprising options, like pancakes and soup.

Don’t get us wrong: These ideas are incredibly clever and really cute. They just seem like, well, a lot. But maybe you’re feeling more ambitious than we are. Maybe you want to try your hand at some Halloween-themed eats over the next few weeks.

Let’s see what’s on offer.

First up, Food Network Magazine really brings it this Halloween, with more spooky recipes than you can shake a witch’s broom at. There’s a full feature on Halloween breakfast, featuring both the cute (Monster Smoothie Bowls, Sausage Mummies, Candy Corn Waffles) and the downright terrifying (Bloodshot Eggs). Beyond the breakfast table, there are Skeleton Hand Puddings, which is thankfully a skeleton-free recipe.

Nobody slays this holiday like Martha, and this year is no different. (It always seems like she and her team love Halloween more than any other holiday, which makes us love them more.) The October issue of Martha Stewart Living features a retrospective of Martha’s best Halloween costumes; her “Motha” look will always be one of our faves. But there’s also a bevy of boo-worthy treats, including Monster Mash Brownies, which look both easy and delicious. There’s a clever spread of “Horror D’Oeuvres” featuring no-cook items like Bloody Brains with Midnight Crackers and some cute creepy cocktails.

The Rachael Ray team brings some real horror with their appropriately disgusting-looking Werewolf Claws. Less frightening are the adorable (and adorably named) Jalapeño Peepers.

Better Homes & Gardens (our favorite food magazine of October) gets crafty with amazing designs for the Sugar Skull decorated pumpkins featured on their cover. And Good Housekeeping has a recipe for Boo-Scotti, which we want to make just so we can keep saying the word “boo-scotti.”

Are you up to the task of making any of these frightening foods? If so, leave us a comment and let us know what you’re going to cook! (And by all means, please invite us to your Halloween party.)

In the meantime, we’ll be fishing all the Mr. Goodbars out of this plastic pumpkin.