Halloween and candy go hand in hand. Who are we to deny you and your kids the pleasure of cloyingly sweet fun-sized chocolate bars, taffies, caramels, and lollipops? But if you want to whip up some Halloween goodies without adding to the sugar avalanche that’s already coming into the house, look no further. We’ve got you covered, with healthy Halloween treats the whole family will enjoy.
Pumpkin-Maple Muffins
Flavored with warming, autumnal spices, these maple-syrup-sweetened, whole-grain pumpkin muffins from Cookie and Kate are easy to make and they freeze well, too. If you like, you can add nuts, dried cranberries, or crystallized ginger for a little extra zip.
Ingredients
1/3 c melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
½ c maple syrup (or honey)
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin purée
¼ c milk or plant-based milk
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, and ¼ tsp allspice or ground cloves)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
1 ¾ whole wheat flour
1/3 c oats, to sprinkle on top
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, beat oil and maple syrup or honey with a whisk. Add eggs and beat well. Add pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Add flour and oats to bowl and mix with a large spoon until just combined. If you’re using any mix-ins (like nuts, cranberries, or crystallized ginger), fold them in now.
- Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of each muffin with a tablespoon of oats, and more pumpkin pie spice, if desired. Bake 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in tin. You may need to run a butter knife around the edges to loosen.
Muffins will keep for 2 days at room temperature, 4 days in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer.
Savory Treats
Not all Halloween-themed food has to be sweet. Check out this collection of fun Halloween food. Some of our favorites:
- Try making spooky devilled eggs by topping them with half an olive and eight olive slices to create spiders perched on them (#6).
- For a fun lunchbox addition, draw scary faces on the shells of hard-boiled eggs (#7).
- For a pre-trick-or-treating dinner, top a plate of spinach noodles and tomato sauce with eyeballs made of rounds of string cheese and olives (#9).
Woman’s Day has compiled some clever healthy Halloween treats here, too.
- Serve this olive-stuffed eyeballs appetizer at a Halloween dinner party, or just surprise the kids after school with a creepy snack. (#5)
- These carrot fingers are suitably chilling, and the edamame dip they’re stuck in looks divine. (#7)
- Every Halloween party needs a skeleton veggie tray as the centerpiece. Bonus: the more people eat away it, the more Halloweeny it gets! (#9)
Happy Halloween!