• ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or diet margarine
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan, or coat with vegetable oil spray. Combine crumbs, butter, cinnamon, sugar and nuts. Line bottom and partly up the sides of prepared pan and refrigerate until ready to add filling.

Pie Filling

• 4 (8-ounce) packages light cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs (or 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites.
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie mix (see note)
• ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• Pure maple syrup
• Whipped cream

1/2 cup gingersnap crumbs

Filling

• 2 lbs cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin puree

Topping

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Sprinkle the gingersnap crumbs onto the bottom and sides of a well-buttered 9-inch springform pan. Chill until ready for filling. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, salt, and eggs until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and continue to beat until very smooth. Pour the mixture into the chilled springform pan and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and let the cake stand in the open oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream and spread it over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the whipped cream. Transfer the cake to a serving dish and serve.

• 3 oz lemon gelatin
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup minature marshmallows
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1 8-0z. pkg cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 1 cup mayonnaise

Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup water in double boiler, add marshmallows and stir to melt. Remove from heat. Add pineapple juice and cream cheese. Beat until well blended. Cool slightly. Fold in whipped cream and mayo. Chill until thickened or firm for scooping into eyeballs.

Using a melonballer, scoop full balls of the mixture and set aside for decoration. To decorate, use food coloring and an old paintbrush and get creative. You will need black food coloring for the pupils. Also, if you are in a hurry, instead of painting the colored irises, you can dip the ball in a small pool of food coloring to approximate the iris, but still paint on the pupils.

Yield: 5 dozen

• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 1 cup Icing sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Almond extract
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 2/3 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched
• 1 Tube red decorator gel (optional, not pictured)

In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in center to create knuckle shape. Don't squeeze the dough around it to form the knuckle. Instead, puff the knuckle out.Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood".

Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks. Repeat with remaining dough.

• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1 (.25-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 3 pounds cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped
• (or 1 pound crab meat)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Tabasco or creole seasoning to taste

Heat soup, undiluted, and mix in the cream cheese. Stir in softened gelatin and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into a lightly-oiled mold. Chill until firm and serve with your favorite crackers.

• 2 cups margarine or butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 6 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. milk

Divide dough in half (or sixths). Chill 1 hour. Roll out half of dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Use greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degress Celsius for 12 minutes. These can be frosted. Makes about 5-6 dozen standard-sized cookie cutter shapes.

Buttercream Frosting

• 1 1/4 cup Crisco shortening (only use Crisco)
• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp Karo light corn syrup
• 1 tsp butter flavoring
• 1 tsp vanilla

Beat 5 to 10 minutes with a power mixer until very smooth. Water down a small amount for a crumb coat if frosting a cake. After 20 minutes (when set), frost with remainder of frosting. When set, use paper towel or typing paper to set desired surface texture. This is fluffy enough to frost easily, yet stiff enough for keeping its shape for decorating.

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1 lb. can pumpkin(2 cups)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1 2/3 cups evap. milk(1 can)
• 1/2 tsp. allspice

One 9 inch pie crust, slightly cooked. (or 10 1/2 inch). Bake in hot oven (425 degrees) for 15 minutes. Keep oven door closed and reduce temp to moderate (350 degrees F/180 degress Celsuis) and continue baking for 45 minutes or until table knife inserted in center of pie comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. May be eaten cold or at room temperature and can serve with whipped cream.

• sliced bread of your choice
• sandwich filling of your choice
• condiments of your choice
• Halloween cookie cutters

Make your sandwiches however you'd like, but try to have ingredients that will stick together and not fall apart after the sandwiches have been cut. The metal cookie cutters work best, since not all the plastic ones are as tall to cut through all the bread and fillings.

• 3 Tbsp margarine
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows (or 10 oz large marshmallows, about 40)
• 6 cups rice crispy cereal
• orange and brown Halloween M&Ms (about 6oz)

Melt margarine in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add cereal and stir until well coated. Add the candy and mix until candy is evenly mixed. Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with waxed paper. Using a buttered spatula or waxed paper, press the mixture evenly into a 9x13" pan. Cut into squares when cool.

• 500 ml (5 parts) Midori
• 800 ml (8 parts) vodka
• 2 liters (20 parts) ginger ale
• 200 ml (2 parts) water OR

Witches' Brew #2 *makes 12 quarts*

• four 48 oz cans pineapple juice
• one 96 oz bottle orange juice
• four 2 liter bottles lemon-lime soda
• one 1.75 liter bottle vodka
• one 1.75 liter bottle rum

All measurements are approximate. Adjust to your own taste. Mix well. Pour into your cauldron, preferably with chunks of dry ice to create the bubbling steam effect. (Be careful NOT to drink or eat or in any way come in direct contact with skin with any chunks of dry ice - you can get burned by the extreme cold!)

First of all, find your mold. Second, thoroughly wash your mold, especially all the detail where the veins are. When completely dry, spray the mold with non-stick cooking spray. You'll see below that Penn & Teller used a Valentine's Day-style heart-shaped cake pan. A human heart mold makes this recipe 100% better!

Use food coloring and a small brush to accent the veins. Use red food coloring to shade the contours (it really does make a difference).

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups of water
• four 3-oz. boxes or two 6-oz boxes of peach (pink; think of lung tissue) or strawberry (redder; think of livers and hearts) gelatin dessert mix.
• 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• one 12-ounce can unsweetened evaporated milk

• 1/2 cup grenadine syrup
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• one small bottle (0.3 fl. oz.) red food coloring
• 3 drops blue food coloring
• one 1-gallon food-storage bag (the plain kind without the zip closure)
• 6 1/2 cup heart-shaped gelatin mold or cake pan

PREPARATION

Boil the water. Put the packaged gelatin dessert and unflavored gelatin in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature (very important or the next step may present problems). Stir in the condensed milk. Note how it already is acquiring the color of freshly skinned flesh.

Pour the mixture into the ge latin mold. Cover the bottom of the mold (this will be the top when you serve it) with a layer about half an inch think. Refrigerate until it gels firmly.

Meanwhile, prepare a nice bladder of blood. Stir together the corn syrup, grenadine, and food colorings (we do it right in the measuring cup to save dish washing--every erg saved in preparation is an erg one can use to enjoy the Payoff). For the bladder (the bag that keeps the blood together inside the mass of gelatin) take the gallon-size food-storage bag and turn it inside out. Pour the blood mixture into one corner of the bag and twist it closed so that no air bubble is caught between the sauce and the twist. Tie a knot in the twisted plastic. Adjust the position of the knot so that when the bag lies on the counter, it's about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high, and tighten the knot. With a pair of scissors, snip off the frilly extra plastic outside the knot.

When the gelatin on the bottom of the mold is stiff and firm, position the bladder of blood in the mold, with the point of the bag just inside the point of the heart. Make sure there is at least 3/4" of space between all sides of the bag and the walls of the mold (this will ensure that your guests don't see clues ahead of time). Pour in the remaining gelatin until the mold is as full as you can handle. Don't worry if you see a little of the blood-bladder grazing the surface of the gelatin, as longs as it doesn't project too much; the side you are looking at now will be the bottom when you serve it. Refrigerate until gelled firmly to the texture of fine, lean organ meat. It takes about 4 hours.

To unmold, put about 2 1/2 inches of hot, but not boiling water in your sink. Set your mold in the water so that the water comes just below the edge of the mold for 15 to 20 seconds; the time depends on the thickness of the mold pan. Remove the mold from the water, and run the blade of a knife around the edge of the gelatin. Invert your serving platter, ideally a white pedestal cake plate, on top and hold it firmly in place. Then use both hands to turn over the mold and the plate. Remove the mold; you may need to tap or shake the mold slightly to free the gelatin.

PRESENTATION