"halloween" news and stories

It's time to turn your dulce de leche cupcake into a sticky spider's web, and your gluten-free sweet into a mini Frankenstein. Check out what bakers all over the blogs are doing to play with their food for Halloween.

From bright orange pumpkins to creepy graveyards, the cupcakes at Project Food Blog are over the top.

The Cupcake Blog channels Dr. Frankenstein with their FrankenMonsters.

At Sweetest Kitchen the pumpkin cucakes are dandy, but the creepy spiders steal the show.

The Culinary Institute's take on cobweb cupcakes are frighteningly beautiful.

The hi-hat cupcakes at Bouffe e Bambini sound kind of scary to make, but we definitely want to taste one of these swirly, chocolate-coated beauties.

Sick of dressing as the same old hot-dog, Halloween after Halloween? That may qualify you for a Chipotle contest. But isn't it time you worked your top-chef look? From a Crocs-toting Mario Batali (using a prosthetic belly if you don't happen to be molto-shaped), to a pearl-sportin' Paula Deen, the folks at Chow show you how, with six hilarious how-tos and photos. Here's a thought: How about Sam Mason from "Dinner with the Band?" Head down to the local tattoo parlor right now, and you might have a decent copy of Sam's fish tat by Halloween.

Thinking about dressing up as Cheese Whiz for Halloween? Then you'll want to stop by Chipotle for a $2 burrito before you head out trick-or-treating.

Or make that a "Boorito." In its latest costume contest, Chipotle is encouraging you to dress up as the "most horrifying processed-food product" you can think of, or you can take one of their suggestions: chicken nuggets, canned pasta, frozen pizzas, hot dogs or lunch meats. (Good luck finding a bologna costume at your local costume shop.)

And what do you get for dressing up like a weenie? Essentially, about $4 off any Chipotle menu item.

Is it worth it? Maybe you can't put a price on a social conscience. The contest is ostensibly about highlighting the "horrors of processed foods," which, according to the chain's website, "fail to provide key nutrients that are important to overall nutrition and, along with excessive portion sizes, are often related to the increased incidence of obesity and diabetes in America."

It's no coincidence that Chipotle bills its "food with integrity" as the healthier antidote to ordinary fast food.

Lame PR stunt or goodwill gesture? It's hard to tell, but the company is donating up to $1 million of proceeds from the contest to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. And if you take your picture in costume at your local Chipotle and post it on the company's website, you'll be registered to win up to $2,500. Not so cheesy, after all.

That should more than cover the cost of dry cleaning your Chicken McNugget ensemble.

• A reporter and his daughter attempt to make their own Halloween candy and quickly vow to never do it again.
• Kansas City kids collected more than 850 pounds of sweets on Halloween night and gave it all away to benefit a charity that provides braces to low-income youths. Rest assured, the candy didn't go to waste, but to troops overseas.
• A recipe for a reduced-fat au gratin potato casserole pleases the palate.
• At The Drop, a small plates restaurant on Kansas City's "Martini Corner," how you want to eat is almost as important as what you want to eat.
• Sumo, a Japanese steakhouse in the suburbs, is a pleasant surprise with top-notch service, spicy salmon rolls and... spinning eggs?
• A raw food enthusiast uses finds from her Halloween harvest for a semi-healthy Welsh rarebit recipe.

Halloween is almost here. The costumes are coming together, the ghosts are swooping in, the kiddies are getting restless and there is simply no time to make fancy graveyard cupcakes or malted eyeballs. But Halloween-themed brownies and blondies are still a snap! When time is of the essence, witch fingers are a great treat to whip up, and they will certainly elicit kudos from the crowd.

These crunchy Halloween cookies have run their way back and forth across the Web, but we've come up with twists and style updates that are sure to please. Hit the jump and visit the gallery for inspiration.