Trick or treat? We’re all aware of this Halloween tradition. Give out a treat, and you’ll be spared from a wicked trick. Here at COOK not only do we want to give you treats, we also want to give you kitchen tricks! Check in each week leading up to Halloween for tasty treat recipes and helpful kitchen tricks to prepare you for the spooky festivities ahead. For the final edition of Trick or Treat we’re getting spooky. Freak your friends, family or party guests with spicy spiders and eyeball ice cubes!

Serving up hot cider for your Halloween party? Well then you must make these star anise spiders to garnish your guests’ mugs! These little guys are easy to assemble and only require a few ingredients. Best of all once you are finished with them you can playfully toss them into people’s drinks for an added spice kick! Just be careful to choose star anise pieces that aren’t brittle and prone to breaking off in your guests’ drinks as star anise is not edible.

Star Anise Spiders

Ingredients

• Honey
• “O” shaped cereal (preferably Honey Nut or Chocolate Cheerios)
• Whole Star Anise

Directions

Pick out the best looking star anise pieces – ones that aren’t brittle and resemble spider legs. The eight points of the star anise pods works so well for spider legs! Once you have your choice spider legs take a small spoon and smear on a dot of honey to where you will affix the spider’s body, right in the middle of the star anise. Place a single Cheerio for the body and a 1/3 of a Cheerio for the head onto your honey covered star anise. Carefully transfer all your assembled star anise spiders into the freezer to allow the honey to harden.

Viola, quick and easy spicy spiders! These go great in hot cider. The star anise provides a licorice flavor, while the honey adds sweetness. The cereal will disintegrate a bit and not add much flavor, but is necessary for a chilling spider effect!

Eyeball Ice Cube

I’ve seen these done at past Halloween parties that I’ve attended. Someone said they learned this trick from Martha Stewart, so we’ll give her credit, but these are so simple that you don’t have to be a professional chef or party planner to make them! The real secret in creating creepy edible eyeballs is using radishes.

Ingredients

• Small radishes
• Olives or blueberries

Directions

Take your small radishes and make sure they will fit in your ice cube tray slots. Using a spoon, scrape away the exterior red part of the radish, but leave some red behind to give your eyeballs a creepy bloodshot and veiny appearance.

Next, take a small spoon or a pairing knife and carve out a divot in the center of the radish. Place a halved olive in the hole for a green iris, or a blueberry if you desire blue eyes. Insert the “eyeballs” into your ice cube tray in a varitey of position: eyes up, down, side to side, etc. Fill the tray with water and freeze until ready to serve your guests.

Get creative with it, there are numerous things you could use to fill the radish such as grapes, cherries, or even chocolate chips for corneas. However, if you’re using olives, these eyeball ice cubes would be perfect for a Halloween martini!

Happy Halloween from COOK!