15 Recipes for Staying in on Halloween

There's nothing like Halloween to make you feel old and washed-up. Because as much as your inner child wants to be outside collecting candy like it's your birthright, if you're over 20 and you follow social norms, you're trapped at home or at a lame party. And this confinement makes you shake your fist at all the rascals wreaking havoc, ringing your doorbell, and making your dog bark uncontrollably.

So how can you avoid hating Halloween? Invite some friends over (costumes optional), put on Hocus Pocus, and make a couple of festive recipes that will remind you of the joys of being a kid and of the perks of being an adult.

Here are 15 reasons (and 15 recipes) why it's not so bad to stay in on Halloween:

1. Because you can eat giant chicken fingers under the name "Parmesan-crusted chicken breasts":

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken, Caponata, and Pesto Sandwich by sdebrango

 

 

2. Because you know that cabbage can actually taste good:

Crunchy Cabbage Salad with Miso-Ginger Dressing by Weird & Ravenous

 

3. Because pumpkins are for more than carving: 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds by Marian Bull

 

4. Because you no longer call beans "the magical fruit":

Slighty Smoky Mixed-Bean Chili by creamtea

 

5. Because you developed a taste for Sriracha:

Spicy Thai PB&J by Natalie

 

6. Because you're no longer scared of brussels sprouts: 

Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts and Thyme by Cassie Jones

 

7. Because sometimes you'd rather have alcohol than candy:

Mother's Ruin Punch by Kenzi Wilbur

 

8. Because you can use a mandoline without adult supervision:

Autumn Root Vegetable Gratin with Herbs and Cheese by Merrill Stubbs

 

9. Because trick-or-treating can be kind of cold and miserable:

Delicately Fragrant Mulled Cider by ody

 

10. Because you can have as much ice cream as you want:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream by Phyllis Grant

 

11. Because you can make your Crunch Bars as crunchy as you want them:

Homemade Crunch Bars by Marian Bull

 

12. But you can also appreciate dark chocolate: 

Alice Medrich's House Truffles 4.0 by Alice Medrich

 

13. Because you're creative enough to make candy without a recipe:

Chocolate Bark by Ben Mims

 

14. Because it's at least a little more likely that you have intricate cake-decorating skills:

Halloween Spider Cake by Yossy Arefi

 

15. Because you feel comfortable impaling apples:

Chocolate Caramel Apples by Alice Medrich

What are your Halloween traditions? Share with us in the comments below!