3 Cute Vegan Halloween Family Treats

Every Halloween, I host a family get-together at my house so the grandparents can see the kids dressed up before they go trick or treating.  Before dinner and dressing up, we make some kind of fun treat to enjoy after trick or treating.  The kids love making candy apples each year, but I recently found some new recipes that I am excited to try out this year.  We may be making treats all week long!  

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from October 2013 issue of Family Fun and online at Parents.com (click here)

Ingredients:

Vegan vanilla cupcake recipe (I am using my favorite for Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World)

Yellow food coloring

Red coloring

Vegan coconut whipped cream (I like this recipe.)

Candy corn pieces - I making homemade candy corns from Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe

Directions:

1. Line two muffin tins with paper liners.  Prepare a batch of vanilla cupcake batter, then evenly divide between two bowls.  Stir 8 drops of yellow food coloring into one of the bowls.  Stir 34 drops of yellow and 31 drops of red food coloring (a scant 1/2 teaspoon each) into the other bowl. 

2. Evenly distribute the yellow batter among the wells (a heaping tablespoon per cup), then top with a layer of orange batter, making sure to cover the yellow layer completely. 

3. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe's directions and let them cool.

4.  Just before serving, use a mixer set on medium to whip heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract until stiff.  Use a pastry bag with a star tip or a sandwich bag with a corner snipped off to pipe a dollop of whipped cream onto each cupcake, then add a candy corn.

Candy Corn Marshmallow People

Recipe adapted from http://kneadtocook.com

Ingredients:

1 bag of vegan marshmallows (I like Dandies)

8 ounces of vegan white chocolate 

Vegetable oil

Yellow food coloring

Orange food coloring

Black gel icing tube

Directions:

1. In a double boiler, melt your chocolate and add a splash (1/2 tsp or so) of vegetable oil to help the chocolate not to seize up.  Once completely melted, pour half into one bowl and half into another.  Add food coloring to one bowl and then the other color to the other bowl.  Give a good stir so the dye is throughout.

2. Dip your marshmallow in the orange first about 1/3 of the way up and then set on some parchment paper.  Proceed throughout the marshmallows doing the orange.  The repeat, only lower with the yellow.  Set on parchment. 

3. Do they eyes with the gel tube.  Avoid putting too much of a dot for the eyes or they will drip.  Enjoy!

Mummy Candy Apples

Recipe via http://mightydelighty.blogspot.com.au.  These are sooooo cute!

Ingredients:

Apples (I like the mini Granny Smiths at TJ's)

Lolly Sticks

White chocolate candy melts

Candy eyeballs

Directions:

1. De-stem the apples and insert sticks.

2. Melt candy melts.

3. Drizzle chocolate over the apples in ribbons.  Do one coat and set down to dry.

4. Add another layer and adhere eyes.  Set aside to dry.

5. Continue adding layers as you'd like.