Halloween treat: Make your own toffee apples

<p> <strong>Frankenstein Fingers and Sheep&rsquo;s Eyes</strong></p> <p> Fill a small bowl with ready-made guacamole, houmous or other favourite dip.<br /> Take five baby carrots and take a thin slice off the tip of each. Then use the knife to make a small incision at the base of this cut and push a flaked almond into the slot to look like finger nails!<br /> Arrange the carrots into the dip so they look like fingers. For the sheep&rsquo;s eyes, peel four carrots and thickly slice.<br /> Slice a few green stuffed olives and red grapes. Top each carrot slice with a blob of sour cream and the sliced grapes or olives.<br /> Arrange the eyes in pairs on a serving plate.</p> <p> Recipe from<a href="http://britishcarrots.co.uk/" target="_blank"> Britishcarrots.co.uk. </a></p>

<p> Chocolate Halloween Figures, 99p from<a href="http://www.aldi.co.uk/" target="_blank"> Aldi. </a></p>

<p> Scary Milk Chocolate Shapes, 79p from <a href="http://www.aldi.co.uk/" target="_blank">Aldi.</a></p>

<p> <strong>American Style Beetroot Pie:</strong> Serves 4.</p> <p> Preparation time: 15 minutes.</p> <p> Cooking time: 45-50 minutes.</p> <p> <strong>You will need:</strong></p> <p> 250g shortcrust pastry<br /> 325g plain cooked (vacuum packed) beetroot, drained<br /> 3 eggs<br /> 75g soft brown sugar<br /> 2tsp ground mixed spice<br /> &frac12; tsp ground allspice (optional)<br /> &frac12; tsp ground ginger (optional)<br /> 250ml double cream</p> <p> <strong>What to do:</strong></p> <p> 1.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Preheat the oven to 200&Euml;&Acirc;šC/Gas Mark 6.<br /> 2.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 23cm loose bottomed pie tin. Bake blind for 20 minutes.<br /> 3.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Whilst the pastry is baking, prepare the filling by pureeing the beetroot along with the eggs in a food processor.<br /> 4.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In a small saucepan add the sugar, all the spices and cream and bring slowly up to a simmering point. Pour into the food processor and mix thoroughly with the beetroot puree.<br /> 5.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Remove the pastry case from the oven and reduce the temperature to 180&Euml;&Acirc;šC/Gas Mark 4.<br /> 6.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Pour the filling carefully into the pastry case and bake for around 25-30 minutes. The edge should be puffed up a little and the centre will still be a touch wobbly. Allow to cool and chill in the fridge. Serve with cr&egrave;me fraiche.</p> <p> Recipe from <a href="http://www.lovebeetroot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Lovebeetroot.co.uk. </a></p>

<p> Personalised Chocolate Bar, &pound;5.99 from <a href="http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk/?_$ja=kw:getting+personal|cgn:Top+Keywords+Getting+Personal|cgid:1408031392|tsid:32931|cn:Getting+Personal.co.uk|cid:6827242|lid:356906045|mt:Exact|nw:search|crid:5789172502&amp;gclid=CJ_u7dOYhqsCFQVN4Aod-EcX5Q" target="_blank">Getting Personal. </a></p>

<p> Spooky Ring Buns, 60p each from <a href="http://www.greggs.co.uk/" target="_blank">Gregs.</a></p>

<p> Vampire Fangs, &pound;1 from Chewits (supermarkets nationwide).&nbsp;</p>

<p> <strong>Halloween carrot muffins</strong>. Makes 12</p> <p> Preparation time: 20 mins</p> <p> Cooking time: 25 mins.</p> <p> <strong>You will need: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p> 200g soft light brown sugar<br /> 200ml sunflower oil<br /> 2 medium eggs<br /> 200g plain flour<br /> 1/2 tsp baking powder<br /> 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda<br /> Pinch of salt<br /> 1 tsp ground cinnamon<br /> 200g carrots, peeled and grated<br /> 50g walnut pieces, chopped<br /> 1 tsp vanilla essence<br /> <br /> <strong>For the icing:</strong><br /> 225g icing sugar, sifted<br /> 25g unsalted butter<br /> 75g chilled full fat cream cheese<br /> food colouring and writing icing</p> <p> <strong>What to do: </strong></p> <p> 1.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan 150C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Line a deep 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.<br /> 2.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Place the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl, then beat together with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Sift over the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon then fold in until well mixed. Fold in the carrots, walnuts and vanilla essence.<br /> 3.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Divide the mixture between the paper cake cases. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25mins or until golden, risen and the middle bounces back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tin for 5mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.<br /> 4.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;For the icing: Use an electric whisk to beat the icing sugar and butter together in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the cream cheese and briefly beat together again until just combined. Don&rsquo;t overbeat or it will become runny. Spread the icing over the muffins, then let the kids go mad icing the cakes with spooky characters.</p> <p> Recipe from: <a href="http://britishcarrots.co.uk/" target="_blank">Britishcarrots.co.uk. </a></p>

<p> Cadbury&rsquo;s Scream Eggs, 55p each from Supermarkets nationwide. (We've eaten a lot of these and they are seriously delicious.)</p>

<p> Bakin' Boys' Spooky Choc 'n' Blood Orange Cakes, &pound;1 from major supermarkets.</p>