I love a good theme party. For my 25th birthday I hosted a dad-themed party. That’s right — cargo shorts, crew socks and fake beer bellies abounded. So when I brainstormed easy make-ahead Halloween recipes, I wanted to tie it all together with a solid party theme: mad scientist! We’re showing you how to make white chocolate-covered strawberry lab mice and petri dish jello shots. Are you cringing yet? These are the perfect treats to serve while the adults wait for trick-or-treaters to make the rounds, so file ’em away for when it’s pre-Halloween prep time.
The best part of these treats is their no-fuss presentation. Just arrange them down a table runner and let the guests pick their poison! I mean, snacks.
Ingredients
Petri Dish Jello Shots
— lime vodka
— assorted creepy gummies (we chose frogs, sour s’ghetti and gummy worms)
— lime Jell-O
Round up your lab materials and get ready to conduct some tasty experiments ;)
Thoroughly mix one cup of boiling water with one pack of Jell-O in a heat-safe mixing bowl. Then add 1/2 cup of vodka and 1/2 cup of cold water to the mix. Transfer the mix into a vessel with a spout for easy pouring.
Arrange your tasty specimens inside the petri dishes.
Fill the petri dishes about 3/4 full with the jello mix, and chill the dishes in the refrigerator for about four hours so the Jell-O sets.
Put these germy snacks out right before your guests arrive.
No mad scientist’s lab is complete without mice scurrying about. Read on to learn how to make these irresistible little vermin.
White Chocolate Covered Strawberry Lab Mice
Ingredients:
— strawberries
— white chocolate melting wafers
— red food coloring
Set a handful of melting wafers aside (these will be the ears) and microwave the remaining wafers in an oven-safe glass at half power for about 30 seconds. If not all of them melt, give the wafers a stir and pop them back into the microwave.
Dunk your strawberries into the chocolate. Pro tip: Set your strawberries on a flat surface to minimize pooling. We totally didn’t, and some of our mice are sitting in their own white chocolate piddles. Whoops!
When the chocolate is mostly set, place two wafers onto each strawberry. If the strawberry has already cooled, you can always dip the wafers into the melted chocolate and use that as glue.
Mix a few drops of food coloring into the remaining melted chocolate.
Use the prong of a fork or other pointy object to give your lab mice those signature beady red eyes. Keep your mice in the refrigerator until your hungry guests arrive… kind of like how you’d store feeder mice ;)
Hit up your local science supply shop and load up on beakers, droppers and test tubes to complete your party!
