If you're hosting a Halloween party this weekend, then you've probably started to think about what dishes you're going to serve your guests.

But before you head over to the supermarket, and fill your trolley with mini pizzas and sausage rolls, take a look at our recipes.

You might feel inspired to go the extra mile and cook a dish or two yourself.

We've handpicked recipes that aren't too complicated to make - so even if you're a novice in the kitchen you can still create a real crowd-pleaser.

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Serves 2

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

500g Pumpkin flesh

Large onion

2 fresh red chillies or 2tsp Stonemill chili powder

stalk fresh lemongrass

1 clove garlic

30g Greenvale butter

1 Quixo vegetable stock cube

200ml boiling water

400ml Asia coconut milk

Salt and black pepper

Fresh basil leaves

Method:

  1. Peel and chop the onion.
  2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, add the onion and sauté for a few minutes on a low heat.
  3. Add the pumpkin flesh and cook for a few more minutes.
  4. Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water and add this to the saucepan.
  5. Peel the garlic and chop finely and add to the pan.
  6. Peel the first piece of skin off the lemongrass.
  7. Cut in half length ways and then finely chop and add to the pan.
  8. If using fresh chillies, cut length ways and discard the seeds. Chop finely and add to pan, otherwise sprinkle the chili powder into the pan.
  9. Open the coconut milk and pour this into the pan, season with a little salt and black pepper.
  10. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft.
  11. Liquidise the soup and serve topped with some fresh chopped basil.

Mummified Sausage Rolls

Serves 8

Prep time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

454g pork sausages

1 sheet puff pastry

2 tbsp caramelised onion chutney

For the eyes either peas/sweetcorn/olives

1 egg

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
  2. Remove skin from the sausages and discard so you're just left with the meat.
  3. On a large piece of cling film spread the sausage meat into a long sheet and flatten to 14cm width.
  4. Spoon a thin column of the chutney along the middle of the sausage meat.
  5. Seal the chutney in by bringing the sausage meat around on both sides using the cling film and press the meat together.
  6. Freeze the sausage log for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to work with.
  7. Remove the pastry from the fridge and cut into 1cm thick strips.
  8. Lay the strips on a piece of baking parchment unevenly.
  9. Place the sausage meat log onto the pastry strips.
  10. Wrap the strips roughly around the sausage meat from top to bottom leaving a 4cm gap half the way down for the face.
  11. Cut the log into 8 pieces.
  12. Stud the two 'eyes' into the face gap.
  13. Put the sausage roll onto a baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.
  14. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Skull Biscuits

Prep time: 1 hour, plus chilling, cooling and setting

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Makes 16

Ingredients:

125g lightly salted butter, softened

125g caster sugar

1 medium egg, beaten

225g plain flour

1 sachet Dr. Oetker Fine Dark Cocoa Powder

1 sachet Dr. Oetker Baking Powder

6g ground cinnamon

To decorate:

Dr. Oetker Ready to Roll Regal-Ice Coloured

Icing sugar to dust

15ml clear honey

Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing

Dr. Oetker Writing Icing Brights

Method

  1. Line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment. In a bowl, beat the butter and caster sugar together until soft and creamy. Whisk in the egg.
  2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and cinnamon on top and stir well. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a firm dough. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and pliable.
  3. Roll out the dough to ½ cm thick. Using an 8cm (3 inch) long skull-shaped cutter, cut out 16 skull shapes, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Arrange on the baking trays, prick with a fork and chill for 30 minutes. (If you do not have a skull cutter then a gingerbread man cutter or circular cutter can be used).
  4. Ten minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180ºC, 160ºC fan oven, 350ºF, gas 4. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until firm. Leave to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. To decorate, using the red, green, yellow and blue ready to roll icing, and working on each colour separately, knead gently to make pliable. Dust the work surface lightly with icing sugar then roll out each colour to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using the same skull cutter, stamp out 4 skull shapes from each colour, re-rolling the trimmings as necessary. Once you have 16 icing skulls, gather up and keep the coloured trimmings for decoration.
  6. Brush the top of each cookie lightly with honey and carefully stick the skulls on top, smoothing them in place with your fingers to ensure a neat fit.
  7. Knead the Black Icing as above, and then roll out thinly. Cut out 16 pairs of eyes using a small round cutter, and then use either a small heart-shaped cutter or another small round cutter, stamp out 16 shapes for the nose. Re-roll the trimmings and cut out 16 small oblongs for the mouths.
  8. Secure the shapes on top of each cookie using a little water. Roll out the Ready to Roll Colour trimmings and cut out shapes to decorate the top of the skulls – we used half flower-shapes topped with smaller flower shapes, finished with a dot of black ready to roll icing.