Delight your family with a spooky treat this Halloween. Dip graham cracker sticks and apple slices into this S’mores flavored peanut butter cream cheese ball shaped and decorated like a spooky skull! 

S’mores Ball Spooky Skull

8 ounces full fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 and 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 and 1/2 cups miniature chocolate chips
Skull cake pan
1 can purchased white icing
1.5 ounce Hershey’s chocolate bar for black eye sockets and nose
Miniature tootsie rolls for teeth
Edible eyeballs
1 box Graham cracker sticks
3 red apples, sliced and dipped in lemon juice diluted with water

With a mixer, combine cream cheese, butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl. Add marshmallows and chocolate chips. Line a skull cake pan with plastic wrap. Spoon S’mores mixture on top of plastic wrap in an even layer. Cover s’mores mixture with more plastic wrap and press mixture evenly in pan. Refrigerate 2 hours until firm. Remove plastic wrap and invert pan onto a serving platter. Cover skull with white icing. To smooth icing: Use a metal offset spatula dipped in hot water. Refrigerate skull.

Cut a pattern from parchment paper for nose and eye sockets using skull cake pan as a guide. Cut nose and eye sockets out of the Hershey’s chocolate bar. Smooth edges of chocolate using a spatula dipped in hot water. (The heat from the spatula will melt the chocolate enough to smooth it.) Cut miniature tootsie roll in half lengthwise for teeth. Place nose, eye sockets and teeth on S’mores skull. Place edible eyes on top of eye sockets. Surround skull with graham cracker sticks and apple slices. Makes 15-20 servings.

Published in The News and Neighbor on October 26, 2022.