Bag of Bones, Breadsticks

1 TBSP yeast
2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix lightly and let sit until foamy. Then add

2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
(for all you garlic lovers, you can replace
salt with 1 TBSP garlic salt)
31/2 cups flour

Mix, then knead in mixer for about 5 minutes. Let raise til double.

Throw dough on a lightly sprayed surface. Roll into a rectangle shape and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. With each individual stick, slit at each end, just a bit, and fold or roll under to make the knobby parts at the end of the bones. Rub cookie sheets with butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

For added flavor try: brushing with melted butter, brushing with melted butter with a dash of garlic salt in it, sprinkling with course salt, sprinking with parmesean, or all of the above. PS, this is all done to the dough before baked, but you knew that, right?

For our door-bell ditching "Boo-ed" treat this year, we made a bunch of these bones and put them in halloween bags, with a note that said, "Enjoy your bag of bones". We were thrilled to give something that wasn't sugar.

Witch Fingers

Creepy Witches' Fingers

Yield: 5 dozen

1 cup Butter, softened, 1 cup Icing sugar (powdered sugar), 1 Egg, 1 tsp Almond extract, 1 tsp Vanilla

2 2/3 cups Flour, 1 tsp Baking powder*

1 tsp Salt, 3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched, 1 Tube red decorator gel (optional, not pictured)

Gross everyone out with these creepy cookies.

In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda*, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. (Accompanying picture showed long rolled shape with bulge at centre for knuckle; you puff it out rather than squeeze it in.) Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood."

Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks. Repeat with remaining dough.

Halloween Swamp Juice

Swamp Juice

2c boiling water

1 (6oz) package Jello Brand Lime flavor gelatin

2c cold orange juice

1 liter of cold seltzer (sprite)

ice cubes

1 pt. orange sherbet, slightly softened

1 orange thinly sliced

1 lime thinly sliced

Handful of Halloween plastic toys (Spiders, mice, eye balls, etc..)

Directions:

1. Stir boiling water into gelatin in lg. bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in Orange juice, cool to room temp.
2. Pour into punch bowl just before serving. Add cold seltzer and ice cubes. Place scoops of sherbet and fruit slices on the punch.
3. Top with plastic Halloween toys… like eye balls, spiders, mice etc…