Getting ready for a Halloween or Autumn Theme Party can be a lot of work so when choosing recipes, look for ones that are:

Are simple to make
Have few ingredients
Hold up well over time
Are pleasing to look at and of course,
Taste great!

We polled our friends and relatives to get their favorite recipes for Halloween and Autumn. Some of our favorites can be found here including Swamp Dip, Chocolately Holiday Bark and Spiced Cranberry Apple Cobbler served with Cinnamon Vanilla Ice Cream. 

 Hot Halloween Appetizer--Swamp Dip (aka Creamy Feta Spinach Dip)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1-10 oz. package spinach leaves, stems removed, cut into thin strips
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Salt and pepper
Dippers including crackers, bread chunks and assorted vegetable sticks
 
Melt butter in 10-inch skillet and add onion, red pepper and garlic. Cook over medium heat until softened. Stir in flour and continue cooking 1 minute.

Whisk in broth and whipping cream. Continue stirring until mixture is thickened.

Add cheese, seasoning, yogurt, spinach and hot pepper sauce and stir until spinach wilts and mixture is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This Halloween appetizer is best served warm with dippers.

 Easy Halloween Dessert--Chocolately Holiday Bark

The best thing about this Chocolatey Holiday Bark recipe is that you can customize it for every holiday or theme party. For Halloween, use white chocolate and candy corn. For a Football party, milk chocolate and candy the color of your favorite team. The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

16 chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped
1-1/2 cups broken small pretzels
1/3 cup raisins
1-1/2 pounds chocolate, broken into squares
2 cups candy (M & M's, candy corn...)
Sprinkles
Start by spreading the cookies, pretzels and raisins evenly onto a lightly greased small baking sheet.

Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from the heat while there are still a few chunks, and stir until smooth. Watch carefully as chocolate can burn easily.

Drizzle chocolate with a spoon over the goodies in the pan, spreading the top flat to coat evenly. Top with candy and sprinkles. Let cool until firm. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

You can usually find sandwich cookies the color of the holiday (orange for Halloween, red for Christmas...). Coordinate the cookies, chocolate, candy and sprinkles to match the holiday or theme of your party.
 
Most Requested Autumn Dessert--Spiced Cranberry Apple Cobbler

This Autumn Recipe is the perfect dessert for a cool Fall night.

Ingredients

4 cups cranberries
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
4 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
1-1/2 cups sour cream
2 teaspoons sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cranberries, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, ground cloves and 1 tablespoon flour in 3-quart baking dish. Mix evenly and dot top with butter bits

Stir together remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut shortening in using pastry blender or 2 knives until crumbly. Add sour cream and blend well (dough will be sticky).

Drop dough by spoonfuls on top of fruit mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 to 30 minutes on middle rack until top is golden.

Spiced Cranberry Apple cobbler is outstanding served with Cinnamon Vanilla Ice Cream. It is hard to find in stores so you can make my own. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to a pint of softened vanilla ice cream and re-freeze. When ready to serve, put a big scoop on top on each bowl of warm cobbler.