food
Kids Recipe: Halloween Candy Freeze
Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved mellocremes. You know what I’m talking about: that Halloween mix candy with little pumpkins and handfuls of candy corn. (Bonus points if you remember the variety that also had chocolate cats.)
Granted, they’re terrible for you. Can you say straight sugar injection? I know this. I also know that 90% of the time (or greater), my family eats well, and I mean really well. I think this is an important point: you can treat your kids if it’s a very occasional treat. And in our household, Halloween definitely is an occasion.
So without further apology, here’s my family’s take on autumn ice cream with that sweet mellocreme flavor. Serve this up as a special treat for guests at a pre-Halloween sleepover. Trust me when I tell you, you’ll be the most popular family on the block.
Autumn Mellocreme Freeze Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ c. vanilla ice cream per guest
- Candy corn, about ½ oz. per ½ c. ice cream serving
- Mellocreme pumpkins or other mellocreme garnish
You will also need:
- An ice cream scoop
- A large bowl
- A fun Halloween serving dish
Directions:
- Pre-soften the ice cream. If you’re softening a half gallon, give this about 30-35 minutes. Smaller amounts will probably be ready in about 20 minutes. DO NOT microwave in order to soften; leave the ice cream out on your counter instead.
- Dish the amount of ice cream you want to serve into a large bowl.
- Add candy corn. Stir. You don’t need to go crazy with this—just get the candy corn distributed through the ice cream.
- Scoop into your bowls or serving dish.
- Add mellocreme pumpkins for garnish.
- Place your finished recipe in the freezer. Cover tent-style but tightly around the edges with aluminum foil. Allow to re-harden, about 30 minutes. The candy corn freezes VERY HARD inside the ice cream, so if you’ll be leaving the recipe in your freezer for more than 30 minutes, plan on removing it and allowing it to thaw about 10 minutes before serving.
Alternative Recipe: A Chilly Graveyard
- Using the ingredients and steps above, replace the vanilla ice cream with chocolate ice cream. Replace mellocremes with oval shaped cookies. Have plain chocolate cookies available.
- Mound the softened chocolate ice cream into a bowl.
- Break cookies in half and place, rounded side up, into the mound to look like little tombstones.
- Crush chocolate cookies in a baggie. Crumble on top of and around the mound to look like graveyard dirt.
A Note on Food Restrictions
Substitutions can easily be made for this recipe. Gluten free, butter free/egg free, etc. cookies can often be found at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Or make your own (this is probably the less expensive option). Replace the ice cream with a non-dairy dessert; just make sure this is truly casein free.
For tree nut allergies, prepare in disposable dishes using disposable spoons and scoops. DO NOT prepare near the potential allergens. For sugar free candies and ice cream, use small amounts—these frequently contain Maltitol, which can have a laxative effect in large quantities.
If you want to up the fun factor of this dish, have guests prepare their own. We invited a gaggle of girls over to help our daughters make this delicious treat. Afterward, we watched Monsters Vs. Aliens, and the Halloween special. Fun evening!
If you make this, tell us what you thought of it, and your own spin on it!
Writer Chris doesn't usually have a sweet tooth, but it does grow a couple times its usual size when Halloween comes around the corner! With the colder weather now arriving (at least where he lives), the autumn soup recipes come out, the baking, treats and other creative goodies. Chris is an avid fan of Halloween, and is editor of Halloweenalliance.com, where you can find a lot more kids (and adult) recipes, crafts, decor ideas and costumes.
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