Halloween Monster Apple Snacks

Spooky Halloween Monster Apple Snacks are made with peanut butter, strawberries and sunflower seeds. A ghoulish Halloween snack for the kids without all the added sugar.

Ghosts, ghouls and sugar are the hallmarks of Halloween and as a kid, it is one of the best times of the year. You get to get dressed up, stay up a little late and eat boatloads of candy!

When I was a kid we used to fill two pillowcases full of candy and were the first ones out and last ones in it felt like. We would come home and proudly dump all of our candy out into a huge pile on the living room rug, quickly look for suspicious ones and then dive on in before our parents call it quits for the night.

My parents were never ones to take our candy away or make us donate it but my dad did make me pay candy tax. For real! He said he has to go to work and pay taxes on his earnings so we had to fill his bowl and pay the “tax man”. A little peek into adulthood. Lucky me!

Recently my daughter has become addicted to apples and peanut butter. I seriously think it may be one of the only foods she eats these days. So when I saw this idea on Pinterest I had to make some for her and share the recipe. I don’t have any particular recipe page to credit because this idea isn’t new but that doesn’t mean you, my readers, have seen it yet. And there are lots of variations.

Making these Halloween Apple Monster Snacks is a great way to get the kids involved and get the creative juices flowing for how to dress these monsters up. What can you use for the tongue, teeth, eyes? I was seriously considering adding strawberry jam to the inside of the mouth to give them a bleeding gum kinda look but figured that wouldn’t look so great in pics.

If you try this please tag me on a pic on Instagram and show my how they look!

ingredeints and substitutions

• Green apples – Each apple gets cut into 6 pieces so use as many as you like.
• Peanut butter – I like to use natural peanut butter because it has no added sugar but feel free to use the nut or nut-free butter you prefer. Or you could also try cream cheese and maybe add a little red food colouring to make them a bit different.
• Strawberries – Two or three will do. They are sliced thin and used for the tongue. You could also try using purple grapes or cheese slices cut like a serpents tongue.
• Sunflower seeds – The sharp points are perfect for inserting into the apple to look like rotten teeth but slivered almonds will work well too.
• Googly eyes – These are made of sugar but if you like you could also use a tiny bit of cream cheese and half a raisin or chocolate chip. You can find candy eyes at most bulk food, grocery or cake decorating stores.

How to make monster apple snacks

Wash and dry your fruit first. Then using a sharp knife cut the apples in half top to bottom and then cut each half into thirds. Slice the pointed end off to remove any part of the apple core.

Then using the knife cut a wedge out of the centre of each apple piece being careful not to cut through the apple. This will form the mouth.

Remove the strawberry stems and then slice the strawberries top to bottom to about a 1/4″ thickness.

How to keep the apples from browning?

In a large bowl add 1 tsp of salt to about 2 cups of cold water. Mix to ensure the salt is dissolved and mixed into the water. Add the apples and let them soak for about 10 minutes. Remove and rinse. Gently pat them dry with a towel.

Make sure they are dried well or the peanut butter will not stick to them.

Use a flat knife to spread the peanut butter into the mouth and cover the inside entirely. Wipe away any excess from the apple peal.

Add a slice of strawberry to the bottom half of the mouth pressing down into the peanut butter slightly so it will stay in place.

Take one sunflower seed at a time and gently insert the pointed end of the seed into the top of the green apple mouth. You can add some to the bottom too if you like. This will represent rotten teeth so if they look a little wonky … that is perfect!

Then using the tip of a sharp knife add a tiny bit of peanut butter to the tip of the knife and spread on the back of each eye ball to make them sticky. Then gently press them onto the top part of the green apple mouth.

What is so fun is that each slice ends up being a unique little monster in you Monster Apple Snack family.

Can these halloween apple monsters be made ahead?

Of course but if doing so make sure you take the time to bath them in the salt water mixture so they won’t turn brow.

How to store Apple monsters?

Place the in a deep container with a lid and place in the fridge for up to 3 days. The sunflower seeds may soften and lose their crunch but they are more for their spooky looks anyway.

more healthy kid-Friendly snacks

• Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Decadent Chickpea Brownies
• Snickerdoodle Hummus
• Peanut Butter Crisps
• Homemade Granola Bars

Pin it for later!