Mid-term break is just around the corner and so is Halloween.

While there will not be any trick or treating due to the current restrictions on household visits, we have found a great way to enjoy the spooky season with your little ones in the safe comfort of your home.

Aldi has shared some great recipes for a devilishly delicious Halloween.

Halloween Bark

Chocolate bark bursting with lots of sweet treats to sink your fangs into.

Serves: 6 people

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Recipe:

Ingredients:

300g Choceur White Chocolate

1 tsp The Pantry Red Food Colouring

1 tsp The Pantry Yellow Food Colouring

Leftover Sweets – you can use whatever you have, we used:

75g Kids Dolly Mixture

40g Rainbow Belts, chopped

40g Strawberry Pencils

80g Chocolate Um’s

30 x 20cm baking tin

Non-stick baking parchment

Method:

1. Line the baking tin with the baking parchment.
2. Break up the chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl.
3. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate – make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
4. While the bowl is still over the water and the chocolate is hot, add the food colourings and stir through.
5. Pour the chocolate into the prepared tin, then sprinkle with leftover sweets.
6. Allow to cool, then put into the fridge to set.
7. Break into pieces and serve.

Frankenstein Cake Pops

Monster cake pop creations covered in green chocolate and shocking chocolate stitches.

Serves: 12 people

Prep time: 50 minutes

Cooking time: 8 minutes

Recipe:

Ingredients:

280g Gráinne’s Tea Room Madeira Cake

200g Choceur White Chocolate

2 x tsp The Pantry Green Food Colouring

4 tsp Clonbawn Fresh Milk

50g Choceur Dark Chocolate

12 pop sticks or lollipop sticks

Method:

1. Trim and cut the madeira cake into 12 oblong shapes.
2. Carefully put a stick into each.
3. Put onto a tray lined with some non-stick paper and freeze for 30 minutes.
4. Break up the white chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl.
5. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate, make sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water.
6. Once the white chocolate has melted, add the green food colouring.
7. Add the milk if the mixture is too thick, then stir well.
8. Dip each cake pop into the green chocolate to cover (keep them upright as they cool, you can make some holes in a potato and stand them in there while they cool and to decorate).
9. Allow to cool and harden then melt the dark chocolate the same way as you did the white chocolate.
10. Dip the tops of each cake pop in the chocolate to give Frank some hair.
11. Using the end of a toothpick, make some eyes and a stitched mouth. Allow to cool.

Toffee Apple Doughnuts

Sweet Toffee Apple doughnuts dipped in icing and served with diced apples.

Serves: 12 people

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Recipe:

Ingredients:

500g The Pantry Plain Flour

225g The Pantry Caster Sugar

15g The Pantry Baking Powder

1½ tsp Stonemill Salt

1 tsp Stonemill Ground Cinnamon

½ tsp The Pantry Baking Soda

2 x Medium Healy’s Farm Eggs

170ml Clonbawn Fresh Milk

15ml Lemon Juice

1 x 270g jar Bramwells Apple Sauce

60g Kilkeely Irish Unsalted Butter

2 x Red or Green Apples

Icing:

60g Kilkeely Irish Unsalted Butter

100g The Pantry Demerara Sugar

35ml Clonbawn Fresh Milk

70g The Pantry Icing Sugar, sieved

Decoration:

5ml Lemon Juice

½ Red or Green Apple

1 x 12-hole doughnut tin

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.
   
   
2. Put the lemon juice in with the milk and let the mixture stand for a few minutes.
   
   
3. Put the flour, caster sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and soda into a large mixing bowl and whisk well. Grate the 1½ apples.
   
   
4. Put the apple sauce into another bowl, melt the butter and add to the bowl, along with the grated apples and the milk mixture.
   
   
5. Beat the eggs and add these too – mix well.
   
   
6. Mix half the apple mixture into the flour and beat with a wooden spoon.
   
   
7. Then add the remaining apple mix and stir through until just mixed. It should be sticky and bubbly.
   
   
8. Grease the tin with a little sunflower oil.
   
   
9. Pipe the mixture into the tins until the mixture comes ¾ way up the sides of the holes.
   
   
10. Bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes until risen and just lightly browned. Turn out of the tins and cool.

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11. To ice and decorate, finely dice the ½ apple and put into a small bowl with the lemon juice – stir well to coat to prevent the apple from going brown.
    
    
12. Put the butter, demerara sugar and the milk into a small saucepan.
    
    
13. Slowly heat until the sugar has melted, then bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for a minute.
    
    
14. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the icing sugar.
    
    
15. Dip the tops of the doughnuts in the icing, or drizzle over. Sprinkle with the diced apple and serve.