Popcorn Monster Hands + Witch Hat Cookies

Treat this as a field note from one working house, not a showroom checklist. The last weeks of October always include a few Halloween parties and those parties, of course, include treats! My girls both enjoy helping out in the kitchen so I like to create snacks and treats that are quick and easy enough for them to make along with me – two of my favorites are Popcorn Monster Hands and Witch Hat Cookies:

Popcorn Monster Hands

I made the Popcorn Monster Hands for the first time two years ago when I was in charge of the activities for one of my daughters' classroom Halloween parties. In searching for approaches online, I came across several images of monster hands that were made using plain popcorn and candy corn nails. I loved the idea but thought I could make them look better by switching things up a bit – here's what you'll need to make my version of Popcorn Monster Hands:

• Disposable gloves – you want clear, thin, gloves that have wide fingers and aren't stretchy – I got a pack of 100 “Scrub Buddies” Disposable Gloves for $1 at a local dollar store.
• Cheddar popcorn
• Hershey's special dark kisses (they come in purple wrappers)
• Halloween themed ribbon that can be bought inexpensively at Hobby Lobby or Michael's

Creating the monster hands couldn't be easier – first, pull off the little white strips of paper poking out from each Hershey's kiss and drop a kiss into each finger of your glove with the point of the kiss facing down. Then fill up the glove with cheddar popcorn (to get the glove's fingers nice and full, it helps to squeeze the popcorn in the fingers to break it up a bit). Once your glove is full, use a fun decorative ribbon to tie the open end.

This is a BIG hit as a classroom Halloween activity – it keeps the kids' attention because it doesn't take too long to do, it's not difficult, and it is fun for the kids to have a party favor they created to take home and later have as a snack. They're also perfect treats to give out to your most special trick-or-treaters!

Witch Hat Cookies

Another kept Halloween treat I make with my kids is Witch Hat Cookies, which is a Betty Crocker recipe. It's about as simple of a recipe as you can get. All you need is:

• Hershey's kisses
• Keebler Fudge Stripes shortbread cookies. You can use either the Original Fudge Stripes or the new Dark Chocolate Fudge Stripes, which I used for the first time this year. I like the look of the witch hats just a little bit better when made with the new dark chocolate ones because they are dark on both sides but if you're making them for kids, you might want to stick with the original because I think most kids like their taste better.
• A tube of orange decorating icing

To make a Witch Hat Cookie, flip your Fudge Stripe cookie over so that the back side is facing up. Then pipe a small circle of orange icing around the hole in the middle:

Finally, simply take an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss and place it down on top of your icing circle. You can easily dress the hats up a bit by adding an icing bow but we like to keep it simple:

Happy Halloween!