30 Terrifyingly Tasty No-Bake Halloween Treats

• Time Commitment: 6 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling)
• Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 10 to 12

Make this elegant, no-bake dessert for your totally-non-kitschy adult Halloween party. "You could easily adapt it to another shape or size vessel," former PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen asserts. "You might end up with thicker or thinner layers depending on its volume, but it will taste the same."

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6 to 8

Pretty enough for a dinner party dessert spread, yet festive enough for the kids' table. "I ever-so-slightly upgraded the decadent snack so it’s just the right amount of classy and kitschy," Gillen writes. "If you still want to use store-bought pudding mix, I won’t tell."

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, make ahead
• Serves: 10

"Aside from using the treats as a garnish, the dip incorporates everything you love about them," writes recipe creator Erin McDowell. "Plenty of salty peanuts, gooey caramel and sweet milk chocolate." Cream cheese rounds everything out with a touch of salt and significant tang.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly
• Serves: 10

What’s more Halloweenie than a giant version of your fave candy? Nothing, if you ask me. Be sure to use a double boiler to melt the chocolate, and slice it with a warm knife once it's been at room temperature for about ten minutes to avoid cracking.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 10

This tart-sweet combo is a timeless favorite...and I can see why. This no-bake treat is forever a crowd-pleaser, and it's a stellar way to use up those apples you snatched at the local farm last weekend. Even better, the caramel is made from store-bought candies.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Hosting a classy Halloween soirée? These seasonal numbers will blow your guests' minds. The recipe calls for sweet-tart red currant jelly on top, but you can certainly substitute raspberry or cranberry if you'd prefer.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 16

If you're looking for something new to pack with lunch this spooky season, this is a must. These bars are sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy and picky-eater proof, so they'll check all your boxes at first bite.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 10

Basically, a pumpkin spice latte in snack form. Use candy corn if you can’t find mellocreme pumpkins for this no-bake Halloween treat. You can also substitute pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
• Serves: 2

These are the only creepy-crawlies I'd be happy to encounter. These bites star mouth-puckering Granny Smith apples, sunflower butter and sunflower seed "teeth." The googly eyes are homemade, but you can use store-bought instead to save time.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: varies

I'm batty for these cuties, since they're made with just four ingredients. The pops are a cinch to assemble, and I'm betting your kids would love to decorate their own before heading out to trick-or-treat.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 24

Two of my favorite things in one no-bake Halloween treat. Use pumpkin spice mix to cut down on ingredients. Make the dessert nuttier and more complex by browning the butter before adding in the crisped rice cereal.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 14

These totally count as a serving of fruit. They may have ice cream energy, but the bananas are actually coated in tangy, sweet Greek vanilla yogurt for a healthier riff. (That means you can go wild with chocolate chips, if you feel so inclined.)

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 20

These chocolatey treats are made with lots of crispy rice cereal for an unexpected texture. As for the spider web design, it's way easier to pull off than you think (read: all it takes is time and a toothpick, even for newbies).

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
• Serves: 4 to 6

Kettle corn is already sweet and salty as it is. Once you add peanut butter-packed mini Reese's, roasted peanuts, candy corn and almond bark to the mix, the flavor contrast is even more intense.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 12

If you ask me, the more googly eyes, the better. Seasonal colored candies and sprinkles make the no-bake Halloween treat even more equipped for its October 31st debut.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 24

Halloween party? These will be a hoot. (See what I did there?) Don't sweat making them magazine-ready. Embrace the imperfections and the pretzels will look even spookier—and they'll taste delicious no matter what.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
• Serves: 4

If you need to whip up dessert in a flash, these make-ahead, four-ingredient, creepy-crawly dirt cups should do the trick (or treat). Use sour gummy worms instead of sweet for a greater contrast in flavor.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: 12

Totoro is ideal when ghosts and goblins are too scary for your little monsters. (Just look at those whiskers.) All it takes to decorate them in white chocolate and candy eyes.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 10

They’re to die for (not to mention made with only four ingredients and ready to devour in 20). I'm betting your kids will beg to place the eyeballs themselves.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 24

There's nothing scary about this Halloween favorite flavor combo. The base is made with corn flakes and brown crisped rice, so you know the crunch will be off the charts. As for sweetness, honey and maple syrup take over for refined sugar.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling)
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 35

They're like little no-bake bites of your favorite fall dessert, and just the thing for a classy Halloween cocktail party. The filling tastes a lot like pumpkin cheesecake, in case you need more convincing.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, make ahead, kid-friendly
• Serves: 10

Dappled with sprinkles, candy corn, M&M's and mini marshmallows, this no-bake Halloween treat is the ultimate balance of sweet and salty. Gift them to trick-or-treaters or nosh on them on the couch while pretending you don't hear your doorbell ringing.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

This chocolate masterpiece is totally boo-tiful. (Last pun, promise.) Go wild with the decorations; just be sure to use a mix of dark and white chocolates so it doesn't turn out excessively sweet.

• Time Commitment: 8 hours and 20 minutes (includes chilling)
• Why I Love It: no bake, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: 10 to 12

Skipping the oven means there's no risk of the cheesecake's top cracking. Toppings like whipped cream or store-bought salted caramel would be stellar pairings for the warm-spiced gingersnap crust.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, vegan, gluten free
• Serves: 12

Proof that not all Halloween treats need to be candy-coated to be tasty. This one gets all its decadence from pumpkin purée, creamy peanut butter and mini chocolate chips, while rolled oats and oat flour keep things virtuous.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 5

Store-bought chocolate chip cookies serve as the base for pretzels, sunflower butter and mini chocolate chips. FYI, it's easy to adjust the recipe for gluten- or dairy-free guests if needed.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 60

Skip the homemade cookies and use store-bought (read: Oreos) to make this no-bake Halloween treat. You can use everything from colored sanding sugar and black licorice to M&M's and chocolate drizzle to decorate them.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 45 minutes (includes setting time)
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 28

Tangy, chocolatey and just salty enough, these are arguably one of the easiest "truffles" you'll ever make. Garnish them with sprinkles, melted chocolate or even more Oreo crumbs.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 30

These bite-sized beauties are as simple as they are drool-worthy. The two main ingredients are store-bought pumpkin madelines and buttercream frosting, so how difficult can it be? (Not very, TBH.)

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 8

I am living for these individual dessert cups. A mix of cream cheese and Greek yogurt makes the base delightfully tangy, while crushed gingersnaps, pumpkin purée and a flurry of spices make the dessert decidedly autumnal.