Best and worst Halloween treats

Posted on by in General, Opinion, Recipes & Food

Best & worst Halloween treatsYep it’s almost Halloween. Before you know it hoards of Dorothy’s, Batmans, wicked witches, robots and sheeted ghosts will be turning up at your front door literally robbing you. Give us sweets or we do something bad to your home! Halloween really is the only time of year such behavior is not only acceptable but encouraged and embraced as a great American tradition!

I do enjoy Halloween though despite my sarcasm. It’s a lot of fun and as a kid I loved the treats we used to receive. As much as I loved Twix bars, Quality Street chocs and the money some folks used to hand out I genuinely used to love the homemade treats the best. Not all kids would see it this way but I think this year try and change some of their minds and go for it. It’s a few hours of your life and you can give them something to remember.

The best & worst Halloween treats

The worst halloween treats…..

Buying a multi-pack of evil Nestle or Mars sweets is easy and a lot of the kids already eat this crap every day. I seriously think they will get enough from your neighbors so why contribute? I’m not telling you it’s a day for giving out fish oil tablets and cubes of tofu but don’t give out the standard. Be different.

The best halloween treats…..

Ok now I have had my rant I want to encourage you to make your own sweets and even savory. In fact I think the kids would love a little bag or sweet and savory treats and there are plenty of easy options that you can make in bulk for cheap without too much of your time.

Mini tarts

I love little tarlets. You can buy the little crusts pre-made or just used ready made pastry. Fill one with cheese and onion and one with a filling like sweet pumpkin or berry preserve. Give each kid one or two of each.

Homemade Twix bars

I got my partner to make these for my birthday. They were yummy and I would seriously recommend them for halloween treats. A great recipe can be found here: Homemade Twix Bars.

Cupcakes

Cupcakes will never lose their appeal because they are just awesome! Halloween theme them, make pumpkin bread style cakes, spiced apple put blood red icing on them and have fun.

Tomato Basil Soup and a cookie

It can get quite chilly walking around on a cold October eve gathering candy. A little cup of warm soup may be a warm welcome and nothing is tastier than a zesty tomato basil soup. You can use some veg stock and a ton of tomatoes and fresh basil. Season with salt, pepper and a tiny bit of chilli powder and it’s ready. You can serve in little plastic cups (leave a bin outside to collect them for recycling). Add a small sweet sugar cookie on the side to please their sweet tooth.

An ethical message

I don’t like to preach (ok I do) but why not wrap your home made treats with little facts or green messages. Not all the kids will read them but some may. You can try and make them halloween themed if you like or provide a fun fact sheet with some puzzles, some halloween info and some moral messages. Why not give philosophical quotes for the older kids to poner and for their parents to think you are crazy!!!!

What are you going to hand out this halloween?


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8 Responses to “Best and worst Halloween treats”

  1. KC

    21. Oct, 2010

    Not actually a good idea to give out home made treats. It could be dangerous. I’ve never allowed my kids to accept homemade treats unless we know the person. Who knows what is in them – at least with the regular candy, kids know what’s in them and so do parents.

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    • Forest

      24. Oct, 2010

      I never thought of that (shame on me). I guess if you know the kids well like in small tight neighborhoods my tips are ok…. You are totally right about accepting from people you don’t know.

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    • haverwench

      24. Oct, 2010

      Yeah, I would hesitate myself to give out homemade treats or even whole fruit, just because I would assume that parents wouldn’t let their kids eat them. Parents have been trained to be paranoid about that sort of thing, even though there has never actually been a documented case of some sicko slipping razor blades into apples (and you could eliminate even the theoretical risk by cutting up the apples before you eat them).

      Personally, I would love to give out little toys instead of candy, if I could find any cheap enough to pass out to a few dozen munchkins without breaking the bank. I bet that would make my house the coolest on the block.

      Oh, and regarding the “evil Nestle or Mars bars”: Hershey is actually the most “evil” of the major chocolate manufacturers, inasmuch as they have taken the fewest steps (i.e., none) to ensure that their cocoa supply is free of forced labor and child labor. See http://www.greenamerica.org/takeaction/hershey/, and sign the letter if you’re concerned about this issue.

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      • Forest

        25. Oct, 2010

        Toys would be cool if you could find something cool and decent for not too much money…. I still think it’s worth having some homemade treats on hand for the kids who you know.

        Hershey also makes Cadbury products in USA (I think) which is sad as Cadbury are actually the best of the bad bunch (the mainstreamers) when it comes to Candy production around the world.

        I’ll go checkout that letter and do some research. I tend to avoid most of those companies when I can.

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  2. Me

    31. Oct, 2010

    How are you supposed to keep the tartlet from crumbling from a bajillion pieces or the icing smearing all over in your bag? Seriously, give me the chocolate bar any day.

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    • Forest

      01. Nov, 2010

      Hey Me,

      Really it’s not that hard. You can eat it right away or just put it at the top of the bag, no big deal! It will be wrapped if the giver is sensible!

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  3. Dunc Wilson

    30. Oct, 2011

    Wow – what different worlds we all live in. My ex and I baked cookies and sold them at our local market once here in New Zealand. We sold out in about an hour. What’s the difference between selling home-baked cookies at a market and giving them out when some little ratbag comes knocking? Surely the kid’s are more at risk from being let out to roam the streets, dressed as the devil, in the dark?

    Policeman: “Now, what was Jimmy wearing when last seen?”
    Father: “A Lucifer outfit”
    Policeman: “Well, that’s going aid us finding him on tonight of all nights!”

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    • Forest

      31. Oct, 2011

      You sold them to the local market! That is awesome.

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