4 Last-Minute Halloween Party Snacks And Mocktails: Quick Ideas For Hosts
The spookiest night of the year is right around the corner, which means, so are the Halloween gatherings and parties. But when it comes to food and drinks, planning a last-minute party can be rather challenging for the host. There is an unsaid, but palpable pressure to present options that fare high on both counts: taste and creativity.
With this in mind, here is a blueprint for snacks and mocktail ideas that are easy to make, so that they can be prepared last minute.
Pumpkin-shaped Cheese Ball Bites
A Halloween party, of all gatherings, should have enough options for convenient finger food, considering that the guests need to navigate their own elaborate costumes and the extravagant decorations around the home.
This savoury snack can also be made way ahead of time and chilled in the freezer, then served on the day of the event.
Ingredients
1 kg Cream cheese
750 gm shredded cheddar
25 gm garlic powder
25 gm paprika
pretzel sticks
Method:
Mix the cream cheese, cheddar and seasonings together, and form small balls of the mix. Then roll them in paprika to mimic the burnt orange shade of pumpkin.
Finally, flatten the top, insert a pretzel stick in the centre as the ‘stem’ and trace lines on the sides of the cheese balls starting from the top, with the back of a spoon or a skewer.
Spider Web Nachos
Simple yet visually impactful, spider web nachos are ideal for a last-minute fix at your Halloween do. Serve it directly on a tray for aesthetics and to minimise the number of cutleries used.
Ingredients:
200 gm Tortilla chips
150 gm Processed cheese (shredded)
210 gm Refried beans
50 ml Sour cream (garnish)
120 ml Salsa
30 gm Sliced black olives (garnish)
Method:
On a baking tray, first lay out the tortilla chips, and top it with the refried beans and the shredded cheese. Then bake it in the oven till the cheese melts.
To create the spider-web design, draw concentric spirals of sour cream on the nachos with a squeeze bottle, then use a skewer to draw straight lines from the centre outwards for the web design.
Make black olive spider garnishes by using one half of the olive as the body, and strips cut from the other half to resemble its legs.
Black Magic Mocktail
With its deep purple colour, this drink is meant to invoke a witch’s brew.
Thus, you can display the drink in a ground glass cauldron or jug, with a wooden ladle as the stirrer.
Ingredients:
120 ml blackberry juice
120 ml lemonade
60 ml tonic water
A few drops of black food colouring (optional)
240 ml water (for black ice cubes)
Method:
Freeze the ice trays with water and a few drops of black food colouring to make black ice cubes a few days in advance. Fill the jug up halfway with the blackberry juice, and then slowly pour lemonade using the back of a spoon to create a discernible layer on top.
Pour tonic water on top for the fizz, then carefully drop in the black ice cubes.
Eyeball Lemonade
Ingredients:
500 ml lemonade
6–8 lychee fruit (cored and deseeded)
50 g blueberries
A few drops of red food colouring
Method:
Create the “eyeballs” by stuffing blueberries into the centre of the lychee, and dropping these into the lemonade.
Drip a few drops of food colouring around the inner rim of the glass to make the glass appear bloody.
The glasses can be chilled in the refrigerator for some time to make them appear frosty.
