How to Throw the Ultimate Halloween Party

Whether you're gearing up to send a group out for a night of trick-or-treat fun or you’re hosting an all-evening gathering, you’ll want to make sure there's plenty for your ghouls to gobble. From spooky snacks to wickedly delicious desserts and potent potions, we've conjured up a cauldron of recipes sure to cast a spell in the best way possible.

Dive into our boo-tiful array of treats (and a few tricks) and get ready to serve up a monstrous good time.

BEWITCHING BREADSTICKS

These eerie eats are scary simple to make when you use refrigerated pizza dough. The ghastly munchie is completed with almond “fingernails” painted blood red, thanks to McCormick® Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye. Baked to a golden-brown perfection and slathered in garlic butter and Parmesan cheese, these fingers are sure to be a graveyard smash at your Halloween bash. Pair them with your favorite dipping sauce and watch party attendees howl with delight!

MUMMY PRETZEL DOGS

There’s no mystery to unravel with this festively spook-tacular app: Hot dogs are swaddled in strips of pizza dough and rolled in a layer of crispy French's® Original Crispy Fried Onions (the secret to their creepy, cryptic crunch is dipping them in a dash of baking soda). The mummified morsels are then resurrected from the oven, emerging golden brown and irresistibly delicious. A side of cheddar or BBQ dipping sauce will unleash a tomb-full of flavor to die for.

ZOMBIE BOOGERS

Zombie Boogers are a fun Halloween snack that transforms plain popcorn into a sticky, green-hued treat—just a little gross and a lot playful. To create the effect, popped popcorn is coated with a gooey syrup made from butter, sugar, and corn syrup, tinted with yellow and green food coloring, then baked until crisp and luscious

GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD DESSERT

Summon the spirits with these cupcakes, where creamy vanilla frosting tinted black shrouds white cake. This treat will be anything but plain vanilla when you put your decorating skills to work — ova-shaped cookies perch as tombstones, while chocolate sprinkles and miniature chocolate chips add a haunting touch.

MONSTER CUPCAKES

Monster Cupcakes are colorful, whimsical cupcakes perfect for Halloween fun. They feature a fluffy vanilla buttercream tinted in vibrant colors using McCormick’s Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye. Each cupcake is transformed into its own quirky creature—like a Green‑Eyed Monster, a Pink Zombie Brain, a Yellow Centipede, or a Blue Cyclops—with creative piping and playful candy embellishments (think candy eyeballs, marshmallows, licorice, and M&M’s®)

HALLOWEEN CAKE POPS

These adorable bite-sized goodies are infused with the warmth of McCormick Pure Orange Extract and costumed in a crunchy chocolate coating. To avoid max sugar overload, consider sending these confections home with partygoers — they'll be a welcome surprise for kids (and kids-at-heart) to enjoy later.

GHOST COCKTAIL

Float into haunted happy hour with this spirited version of a creamy crowd-pleasing concoction. Its sweet base creates a silky sip, punctuated with the refreshing bubble of club soda. But the real showstopper will be the understated yet effective decorating elements — the glass rim laced with a simple black sugar and floating marshmallow “eyeballs” that seem to follow guests as they indulge, adding a subtle touch of macabre.

HOCUS POCUS FIZZ

With its bright pineapple notes and subtle coconut undertones, this fizzy cocktail brings a surprising tropical twist to your Halloween festivities, as though an icy beachside bev is wearing a costume to your soirée. The tangy base is tinted orange, thanks to a few drops of McCormick Red Food Color and McCormick Yellow Food Color, then finished with the effervescent charm of sparkling wine for extra kick. Stirred up in advance and served in an artfully decorated container, this crowd-pleasing brew allows hosts to mingle rather than play bartender all evening.

HALLOWEEN DRIPPING DRINK RIM

Whether you’re serving a potent rum punch or an all-ages-friendly nonalcoholic sip, give any beverage a sinister spin by transforming ordinary glassware into vessels of elegant horror. The trick is to use light corn syrup, which offers the perfect viscosity to create slow, menacing drips that cling to the glass rather than running amok down the side, while a hint of McCormick Pure Orange Extract adds a surprise zing. These dramatic rims work beautifully with crystal-clear options like a vodka tonic or simple club soda, or add a few drops of McCormick Food Color to magically transform any liquid and enliven your treat table.