CREATIVE SYNDICATE

CREATIVE SYNDICATE

From little monsters to grown-up goblins, Halloween is when sweets truly take center stage. Make this October 31 a day to remember with these spine-tingling celebration tips.

Host a Spooky Story Night. Have family and friends dress up in their costumes and come over to tell haunting tales. Make a story chain by having each person tell a portion of a story and take turns adding embellishments and silly twists.

Practice Safe Trick-or- Treating. Contact your neighbors and suggest meeting as a large group to trick-or-treat together. Create a map of trusted houses for the group to visit, with each family hosting for a half-hour of games, snacks and refreshments. Rotate until everyone gets to play host.

Enjoy a Family Bake-tivity. On the night before Halloween, gather the kids to bake these simple but eyecatching cupcakes adorned with "cobwebs." Enjoy them the next night when it's your turn to host the neighborhood trick-or-treaters。

Cobweb Cupcakes

24 servings

• 1 package (18.25 ounces) devil's food or yellow cake mix

• 2 (2.1 ounces each) NestlÈ Butterfinger Candy Bars, chopped

• 1 container (16 ounces) prepared vanilla frosting

• 1 cup (6 ounces) NestlÈ Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

• 1 small tube white decorator icing or gel

• 1 package (1.38 ounces) Nestlè Goobers Milk Chocolate-Covered Peanuts

Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions; add chopped

Butterfinger to batter. Bake according to directions for 24 cupcakes. Cool completely. Frost cupcakes.

Place morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; knead. Microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut small corner from bag; squeeze to pipe concentric circles on top of frosting. Using wooden pick or tip of knife, pull tip through chocolate from center to last circle to create a cobweb effect.

Make 2 dots using decorator icing on each of 24 Goobers to resemble spider eyes. Place in center of each cobweb. For more ghoulish recipes, visit www.meals.com.

Spooky Pop Cupcakes

Each cupcake serves 1

• Graveyard Cupcake Decorating Set, Spooky Pop Cupcake Combo Pack or solid color baking cups

• Favorite cupcake recipe or mi x • 1 can (16 ounces) White Decorator Icing

• Orange, Green or other desired Icing Color

• 1 can (16 ounces) Chocolate Decorator Icing

Preheat oven to 350∞F. Line cavities of standard muffin pan with baking cups.

Bake your favorite cupcakes in prepared pan. Cool completely. Place some cupcakes in Skeleton Cupcake Wraps.

Tint white decorator icing with icing color. Use a spatula to ice smooth or pipe tip 1M icing swirls on cupcake top. Insert icing decorations or pix from decorating set and combo pack.