Jack-o-Lantern Orange. Banshee Black. Frankenstein Green. This is the colorful monster mash of Halloween, encouraging creativity in everything from costumes to decorations to tasty treats. The results are sometimes wicked and sometimes whimsical — and, with the help of McCormick, always colorful and flavorful.

"McCormick orange extract and food colors are the perfect combination for Halloween," says Mark Garcia of the McCormick Kitchens. "And, our Creepy Crawly Cake Truffles make great use of this combo. Not only are these bite-sized spiders, ghosts and bats fun on the outside, they also hold a surprise on the inside: a bright orange-flavored cake. This is just one of many playful 'tricks' you can try with food color and extracts on Halloween."

For more treats that'll turn customers' festivities into a delicious graveyard smash, try these recipes from the McCormick Kitchens developed especially for the season:

Creepy Crawly Cake Truffles: Transform orange-colored (and flavored!) cake balls into edible monsters with sweet decorations like melted chocolate, black licorice and jelly beans. Create the mini vampire bats, spiders and ghosts or experiment with creatures of your own to match your costume.

Black Velvet Whoopie Pies: Dive into the spirit of the season with a tempting new take on red velvet cake. These mini cake sandwiches pop with Jack-O-Lantern Orange, Frankenstein Green and Electric Purple fillings that can be customized to your taste with flavors like Orange, Lemon and Raspberry.

Orange Hocus Pocus Fizz: Rim this tantalizing cocktail of rum, coconut and pineapple with black sugar for a sweetly spooky beverage that'll be the hit of the land. Leave out the rum for a virgin "mocktail" all your little ghouls and goblins can enjoy.

Harvest Scarecrow Cookies: It's fun and easy to "dress" vanilla sugar cookies as sweet scarecrows by adding shredded wheat "straw hair," a sugar wafer "hat," and a smiling red licorice face.

Candy Corn Cupcakes: Inspired by Halloween's signature candy, these bright cupcakes feature vibrant layers of orange and yellow cake topped with creamy white frosting and sprinkles.
Monster Color Mash-up