Frightfully Sweet Halloween Party

  Halloween and candy just go together and this Frightfully Sweet Halloween Party is the perfect combination.

Check out these other fun Halloween party and activity ideas including Witches Ice Cream Party, Mad Scientist Party, and Halloween S’mores Party.

Halloween Party Ideas

No matter how hard you might try candy and Halloween are inseparable!  It’s just not going to change so if you can’t change it, embrace it!  That’s exactly what this Frightfully Sweet Halloween Party is all about – sweets!   

Frightfully Sweet Halloween Party

This year the party is all about the candy and using some darling Halloween party decor items from Target made it even easier.  I love having stations set up where my party guests can make their own sweet treats.  The First Sweet Station was the Candy Skewer station and I used these cute little pumpkin placecards for my signage.

How to Make Candy Skewers

I had a great selection of Halloween themed gummy candy, basically anything that could be put onto a bamboo skewer.  The trick with the bamboo skewers is to soak them in some water first, and then wipe them off and the sticky candy will slide on much easier.

The kids and adults are going to have a great time putting together their own combinations on their candy skewers.  Check out this post on making candy skewers.

Fair warning, not all of the candy will make it onto a skewer!

These cute little treat bags are the perfect way for your party guests to take their sweet treats home in.

They make great decorations for the table too!

Halloween Party Decorations

I also found these great Halloween paper fans that were an easy way to create a backdrop to the sweet treat table. There are a couple of different great color and pattern combos and I used them both.

The Happy Halloween  garland is the perfect combination of fun and spook and adds the finishing touch to the backdrop.

Our Second Sweet Station was the Decorate Your Own Donut Station which is always a huge hit with big and little kids.

Pick up some cake donuts from your local donut shop, some canned frosting and then your favorite candy toppings such as M&M’s, candy corn, popcorn and Reese’s pieces.  Put a layer of frosting on the donut and then pile on the toppings. For more ideas on putting together a Donut Bar.

A photo op is always a fun addition to a party.  I created this cute and easy backdrop with some cute Halloween paper cut into pennants.  You can get directions on how I made something similar here.  I purchased the Halloween Paper Stack at Joann Fabric and Craft Store

It made the perfect backdrop for these fun photo booth props.

I always like to let my party guests know they are at the right place with some kind of signage outside the house to welcome them to the party and set the mood before they even enter the house.  These Halloween Luminary Bags are the perfect way to welcome your guests.

A Frightfully Sweet Halloween Party is a fun and sweet way to celebrate!

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Pan Pizza

A thick crust pizza with all of your favorite toppings.CourseMain Course, Main DishCuisineItalianPrep Time2 hoursCook Time28 minutes0 minutesTotal Time2 hours 28 minutesServings12 piecesCalories421kcalAuthorLeigh Anne Wilkes

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 3/4 cups warm water 110 degrees
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil divided plus 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt

SAUCE AND TOPPINGS

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• Salt
• 3 ounces Parmesan cheese grated (1 1/2 cups)
• 12 ounces Italian Blend Cheese shredded (3 cups)
• Desired pizza toppings sausage, pepperoni, etc.
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

• Grease large bowl.
• Combine water, ¼ cup oil, and sugar. Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, yeast, and salt on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-low, add water mixture, and knead until dough is uniform in texture, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer dough to greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
• Evenly coat rimmed baking sheet with ¼ cup oil.
• On lightly floured work surface, use rolling pin to roll dough into 16 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer dough to prepared sheet and stretch dough to cover sheet, pressing dough into corners. Brush dough evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and cover with plastic. Set in warm spot (not oven) until slightly risen, about 20 minutes.
• While dough rises, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Cook garlic, oregano, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer until reduced to 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Off heat, season with salt to taste.
• Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove plastic and, using your fingers, make indentations all over dough. Sprinkle dough with 1 cup Parmesan and bake until cheese begins to melt, about 7 minutes.
• Remove sheet from oven and spoon sauce over pizza, leaving 1-inch border. Bake until sauce is deep red and steaming, 7 to 10 ­minutes.
• Sprinkle cheese blend and remaining ½ cup Parmesan evenly over sauce and any desired pizza toppings and bake until cheese is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil. Serve.

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Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake

Pumpkin cinnamon roll cake is the perfect combination of two popular favorites, pumpkin spice and cinnamon rolls.CourseDessertCuisineAmericanPrep Time15 minutesCook Time30 minutesTotal Time45 minutesServings12 piecesCalories635kcalAuthorLeigh Anne Wilkes

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c. sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. butter melted

Topping

• 1/2 c. butter softened
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree

Glaze

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

Cake

• Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9×13 pan.

Topping

• Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife.
• Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze

• Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth.
• Drizzle over the warm cake

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Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake

CourseDessertPrep Time15 minutesCook Time45 minutesTotal Time1 hourServings16 piecesAuthorLeigh Anne Wilkes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon optional
• 2 tsp orange peel optional
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 medium zucchini peeled and grated (2 cups)
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
• Combine dry ingredients.
• In mixer, beat butter, oil and sugars together.
• Add in eggs, vanilla and milk and mix until combined
• Add in dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Add in zucchini and chocolate chips.
• Pour into pan and bake for 45 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean.

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Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies

CourseCookiesPrep Time15 minutesCook Time12 minutesTotal Time27 minutesServings2 -3 dozenAuthorLeigh Anne Wilkes

Ingredients

• ½ c butter softened
• ¾ C peanut butter creamy
• ¾ C brown sugar
• ¾ C white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1½ tsp vanilla
• 1¼ C flour
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 C chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Nutella

Instructions

• Cream together butter and peanut butter.
• Add in sugars.
• Mix in egg, milk and vanilla
• Next add in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine
• Add in chocolate chips.
• Gently fold Nutella through batter, do not over stir.
• Scoop into balls and place on cookie sheet .
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until barely brown. Do not over bake. They should look like they need to bake for another minute or two.

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