Monster kabobs make fun Halloween treats

You know what’s better than a bunch of marshmallow monsters? A bunch of marshmallow monsters on a stick. Because everything is better on a stick.

Here’s a festive creation that’s fun for the whole family. You’ll need a bag of marshmallows and a few inexpensive decorative ingredients to make your own marshmallow monster mash.

Line cookie sheets with wax paper. Gather skewers, a bunch of little bowls and your decorating gear. Here are some of our favorites.

Flavored gelatin powder adds vibrant color and flavor to marshmallows. Skewer a marshmallow and dip it quickly in water. Roll damp marshmallow on a paper towel to blot excess moisture and roll in gelatin powder. Orange makes perfect pumpkins and lime makes great green monsters. They taste wonderful, too. We especially loved the combination of orange gelatin with dark chocolate.

Colored sugars add fun to this project. Application is the same as with gelatin powder. You can purchase colored sugar in every color of the rainbow, or you can make your own.

To color sugar, place white sugar in a glass jar with a lid or resealable plastic bag. Add drops of food color, starting with 6 drops and add more, a drop or two at a time, for more intense color. Shake the jar or seal the bag and mush it around until the color is distributed.

Candy melts are excellent for coating marshmallows. Melt the candies in a mall microwave safe bowl at 30 second increments, stirring until smooth. You can add a teaspoon of shortening or coconut oil to reach dipping consistency. Place a marshmallow on a skewer and dip in the candy coating; roll the marshmallow to let the excess drip off.

Place it on wax paper to allow the coating to completely harden before decorating further. I find edible markers (pens) didn’t draw well on candy coating but melted chocolate worked great.

Here’s how we made ours:

Frankenstein’s monster: Coat marshmallow with green candy melts. While still tacky press the top of the “head” into mini chocolate chips or jimmies and add candy eyeballs (found with candy making supplies). Let harden. With toothpicks dipped in melted chocolate chips, add eyebrows, a mouth and stitches.

Pumpkin: Dip marshmallows in orange gelatin powder as described above. Use toothpicks dipped in melted chocolate to draw faces. Add green candies for stems.

Mummy: Dip a moistened marshmallow in white sugar. Drizzle with melted white candy melts to make bandages. Attach eyes with chocolate.

Ghosts: Coat marshmallow in white candy melts allowing excess to pool on wax paper. Let harden. Use toothpicks dipped in melted chocolate to make faces.

Monsters: Roll marshmallow in green sugar. Use melted chocolate to adhere three eyes and draw silly faces.

Bloodshot eyeballs: Using a red edible marker (found with candy making supplies) or a toothpick in red food coloring, draw squiggles on the round side of plain marshmallow. Adhere a red vein candy eyeball with melted chocolate.

When using bamboo skewers with marshmallows, butter the skewers before attempting to impale sticky things. This makes all the difference. About a ¼ teaspoon butter coated a whole bunch of skewers using my fingertips.

For safety sake, don’t use bamboo skewers if you’ve got little kids; use lollipop sticks or straws instead.

To make straw skewers, cut the end at an angle. You may need to make “pilot holes” in your marshmallow to aid in getting through and prevent any chocolate from cracking when skewering.

If you have very young children don’t make kabobs at all, just place the decorated marshmallows on festive plates. Also watch for potential choking hazards like sugar eyeballs for toddlers.

Everyone at Divas on a Dime wishes you a safe and spook-takular Halloween.

Lifestyle expert Patti Diamond is a recipe developer and food writer of the website “Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous!” Visit Patti at www.divasonadime.com and join the conversation on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom. Email Patti at divapatti@divasonadime.com.