A wonderful selection of 1950s Halloween recipes

✯ Day 299 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

In yesterday's post we chatted about Halloween decorations, which are certainly one very important component of a good holiday party (be it for twenty-five friends, or a more intimate gathering with the family members under your own roof). Today we're going to take a peak at selection of charming vintage Halloween recipes that can further help bolster your festive fete.

The (starry night) sky is the limit when it comes to how creative you want to be with your Halloween food. You can span the spectrum from sweet little frosted pumpkin shaped sugar cookies to dark, soot black bowls of squid ink pasta for grown-up dinner parties (or those youngsters in your midst with more adventurous palates).

I find that each year I'm struck by the desire to both reach for tried-and-true standards (caramel corn, candy apples, pumpkin pie), while also trying out new Halloween recipes (or at least giving classic foods a spookier twist). One of my favourites, year after year, that harkens back to my childhood, is to homemade pizza made with jack-o-lantern faces.

Over the years I've gone swank (taking my cue from Martha Stewart and serving an all black and orange cheese and wine party) to silly (everyone has to set out a dish of "monster's eyes" - aka, peeled grapes - at least one in their lives!). Usually, particularly not having kids of my own to entertain yet, my Halloween menu (be it for a party, a few friends, of just the mister and I) falls somewhere in the middle.

It's a blend of favourites like almond tipped witch's finger cookies and sage infused creamy pumpkin and apple soup. Fragrant black licorice cupcakes to warm, salted roasted pumpkin seeds.

Naturally, I'm always on the prowl to add new (or should I say, "old") vintage Halloween recipes to my repertoire, as I know many of you are, too.

That's why today's vintage recipe post isn't focused on just one dish, instead it's a collection of two charming vintage cookbook pages (which come by way of thepeachmartini on Flickr) that include a great assortment of fun, completely child-friendly Halloween recipes from the 1950s.

 

These pages feature some of the most beloved Halloween recipes of all time, like caramel apples and hot spiced cider, as well as other less common ones (like pumpkin ice cream) that I'm eager to make  over the next few days.

All of these delicious 1950s recipes are easy-peasy and relatively inexpensive, meaning they can be whipped up with just a few ingredients (most which you likely have on hand already) and a hour or two at most (only the ice cream takes longer than that before it’s ready to serve).

I hope that this October 31st, whatever kind of menu you're planning, you're able to indulge in many of your favourite Halloween foods and also try out a new recipe or two as well, like the enjoyable vintage ones here.