Halloween Dessert: Spooky Fruit Tray With Toasted Marshmallow Dip

Turn fruit into ghoulish treats with a spooky fruit tray featuring clementine pumpkins, strawberry monsters, mummy bananas, and a creamy marshmallow dip.

Easy

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This Halloween dessert tray transforms simple fruit into playful creatures. Clementines become tiny pumpkins with gumdrop stems, strawberries become monsters with chocolate mouths and marshmallow teeth, and bananas become mummies with zigzag white candy and candy eyes. A marshmallow cream and cream cheese dip adds a sweet finish.

Directions

Peel clementines. Use a paring knife to trim round corners off green gumdrops, creating stem shapes. Remove excess white pith from the top of each clementine to form an opening, then gently insert the bottom of each candy stem into the opening.

Wash and thoroughly dry strawberries. Slice off the tops so the berries stand upright (pointed end up). In a microwave-safe bowl, melt semisweet chocolate at full power in 30-second intervals, stirring after each until smooth. Transfer to a small piping bag or plastic bag with a tiny corner snipped off. Pipe a sideways half-moon shape onto each berry for a mouth; let chocolate set. Then melt vanilla baking chips in a microwave-safe bowl at full power in 30-second intervals. When smooth, dip a toothpick tip in the candy and dot onto the upper corner of the mouth. Drag the toothpick through the dot to create a pointed tooth. Repeat until the mouth is filled with sharp teeth. Add teeth to all berries.

Peel bananas and cut each in half crosswise. Insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each half. Pour lemon juice into a small bowl; dip each banana in the juice to prevent browning. Place bananas on paper towels and pat dry. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Melt white candy wafers in a microwave-safe bowl according to package instructions. Spoon into a small piping bag or plastic bag, snip a corner, and pipe melted candy in a zigzag pattern from top to bottom on each banana. Attach two candy eyes near the tip of each banana. Let set before serving.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3/4 of the jar of marshmallow cream with the cream cheese. Beat together until smooth.