This year, New York City is celebrating Halloween across two weekends. So, as you gear up for Halloweekend number two — and the holiday itself — take some time for reflection. Whenever you have the chance to take a break from your four-day bender or the bustling crowds at the Village Halloween Parade, try opting for a chill night in. Make a grocery run, gather some friends and spook up your evening with these four Halloween-inspired recipes.

Scary Mini Pizzas

Ingredients: 

• Pizza dough — for rectangular pizzas, try Trader Joe’s Pizza Crust
• Olive oil
• Pizza sauce of your choice
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Toppings of your choice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. 
2. For circular pizzas, roll out pizza dough until roughly 6-9 inches in diameter. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.
3. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil, then spread pizza sauce evenly across the surface within 1/2 inch of the edges.
4. Decorate your pizzas:

Ghost Cheese Pizza: Spread cheese in the shape of a ghost. Use olives to create eyes and mouth.

Jack-O’-Lantern Pepperoni Pizza: Spread cheese evenly across the dough. Take two slices of pepperoni and cut them into triangle shapes to create eyes. For the mouth, get creative and shape your pepperoni slices into a jack-o’-lantern grin. You can place the pepperoni slices in a wide smile or cut up your pepperoni to create teeth. 

Frankenstein Pizza: Spread cheese in the shape of a rectangle. Decorate the pizza lengthwise, placing olives for the eyes near the top of the dough. Thinly slice more olives to create the monster’s stitches, alternating between vertical and horizontal placement. For the nose, place a mushroom in the center or cut a piece of pepperoni into a trapezoid. Cut two thin strips of pepperoni to make the mouth. To form the teeth, dice a few pieces of onion and arrange them in a straight line in between the two lips. Cut two thin strips of green bell pepper for the ears.

1. Bake for 5-8 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown and crispy on the edges.  

Berry Scary Strawberries 

Ingredients:

• 1 box of strawberries
• 1 pack each of white, milk and dark chocolate, such as Ghirardelli Melting Wafers or other melting chocolates
• Thin stick pretzels or Chocolate Glico Pocky Biscuit Sticks 

Instructions:

1. Wash strawberries and dry thoroughly, keeping the stems attached. 
2. Microwave the chocolate for 30-second intervals, stirring in between until the chocolate is fully melted.
3. Decorate your strawberries:

Ghost Strawberries: Dip the strawberries in melted white chocolate, lifting and twisting slightly to let the excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Use milk or dark chocolate to create small dots for the eyes and mouth.

Witch’s Broom: Remove strawberry stem, then push one pretzel stick or Pocky into the top of the strawberry. Dip strawberries in milk or dark chocolate. Thinly drizzle more chocolate in a vertical zig-zag motion onto the strawberries to create the tassels of the broom. 

Skull Strawberries: Coat strawberries in melted white chocolate. Use milk or dark chocolate to draw semi-circles for the eyes, a smaller semi-circle for the nose and your choice of mouth.

1. Refrigerate until chocolate sets for about 30 minutes.

Spooky Cookie Witch Hats

Ingredients:

• Cookies of your choice 
• 1 bag peanut butter cups 
• 1 bag milk or dark chocolate, such as Ghirardelli Melting Wafers or other melting chocolates
• 1 bag candy corn

Instructions:

1. Microwave the chocolate for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval until fully melted. 
2. Unwrap a peanut butter cup and place a small amount of melted chocolate in the center. Flip over the peanut butter cup and place in the center of the cookie, using the chocolate to make it stick.
3. Place a small amount of chocolate on top of each peanut butter cup. Take two candy corns and place them back-to-back on the center of the peanut butter cup, using the chocolate to make them stick.

Boo-Schetta

Ingredients: 

• 1 baguette
• 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 pounds medium-sized tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 handful of basil leaves
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Sliced mozzarella cheese
• Balsamic vinegar 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. 
2. Cut the baguette into 1/2 inch slices and drizzle with olive oil. Place on a sheet pan lined with foil and bake for 6-7 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
3. Mix diced tomatoes, minced garlic, chopped basil and olive oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
4. Top each baguette with a spoonful of tomato mixture. 
5. Cut out ghost shapes from your sliced mozzarella or use a ghost-shaped cookie cutter, placing them on top of the tomato mixture.
6. Dip a toothpick or spoon in balsamic vinegar to create two dots for the eyes and one for the mouth.

Contact Noor Maahin at [email protected].