With Halloween just one week away, it's time to start thinking of goodies for the trick-or-treaters who will come knocking on your door, or for the gathering you are planning at home. Homemade things are always special, but in today's busy world not everyone is able to spend all day in the kitchen. Here are some quick and easy recipes which will do nicely.

CHOCOLATE SPIDERS

Preparation Time: 15-30 minutes

8 1oz squares semi-sweet chocolate

2 c. miniature marshmallows

Black or red shoestring licorice

24 small, round, candy-coated milk chocolate balls

IN a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate for two minutes at 50 percent power, stirring after one minute. Stir until melted; let stand for five minutes. Stir in marshmallows. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Cut licorice into two-inch pieces; press eight pieces onto each mound for legs. Press two chocolate balls into each for eyes. Refrigerate until firm (about 20 minutes). Yield: 24 spiders.

CANDY CORN COOKIES

Preparation Time: 30-45 minutes

1 18oz package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

½ c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp grated lemon zest

? tsp yellow food colouring paste

1 ½ tsps grated orange zest

¼ tsp orange food colouring paste

½ c. white chocolate chips

orange and yellow coloured sugars

PRE-HEAT oven to 350 F. With electric mixer on low, beat cookie dough and flour until combined. Divide dough into three equal portions. Add lemon zest and yellow food colouring to one portion of dough, and mix on low until blended; set aside. Add orange zest and orange food colouring to another portion of the dough; beat until blended. Leave remaining portion plain.

Divide each dough section in half. Roll one piece of each colour into a 12-inch long rope. Transfer dough ropes to a lightly floured work surface, side by side and lengthwise, with the orange rope in the middle. Place parchment paper over dough; gently roll into a 14 x 4-inch rectangle. Remove parchment paper. Using a knife, cut dough into 12 equal triangles.

Transfer triangles, one inch apart, to an ungreased baking sheet. Push a ruler against sides of triangles to straighten edges. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake until lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes; let cool for one minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely.

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, microwave white chocolate on HIGH until melted – about one minute. Dip white end of cookies into chocolate then into coloured sugars. Let stand until set. Yield: about 24 cookies.

SPOOKY BATWITCHES

Preparation Time: Over 1 hour

1 8oz package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

½ gallon vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

orange and black nonpareils

bat-shaped cookie cutter

Drinking straw

PRE-HEAT oven to 350 F. Knead cocoa powder into dough; knead flour into the dough. Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using the bat shaped cookie cutter cut out bat shapes. Using the drinking straw, insert at the top of the bat shapes for the eyes. Place cutouts on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until firm (12 to15 minutes), let cool completely.

Line a 15 x 11-inch baking sheet with foil. Using a small offset spatula and working quickly, apply about ½ c. softened ice cream to half the cookies. Quickly place remaining cookies, flat side down, onto ice-cream-topped cookies. Place batwitches on prepared baking sheet, cover pan loosely with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm (about 1 hour).

Roll the edges of the frozen batwitches in the orange and black nonpareils, gently pressing so they adhere. Shake off excess. Serve immediately or wrap individual batwiches securely in plastic wrap and return to freezer. Yield: about 12.

WORMY ORANGE PUNCH

Preparation Time: Less than 15 minutes

1 gallon orange sherbet, softened

1 quart pineapple juice, chilled

1 litre lemon-lime soda, chilled

Gummy Worms

Combine sherbet and pineapple juice in a punch bowl; stir well. Add soda; stir until sherbet is almost dissolved. Decorate bowl with gummy worms. Serve immediately. Yield: 20 1-cup servings.

JACK-O'-LANTERN BURGERS

Preparation Time: 15 to 30 minutes

1 envelope onion soup mix

½ c ketchup

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tsps prepared horseradish

2 tsps chili powder

2 ½lbs ground beef

10 slices process American cheese

10 hamburger buns, split

IN a bowl, combine soup mix, ketchup, brown sugar, horseradish and chili powder. Add beef; mix well. Shape into 10 patties. Grill, broil or pan-fry until meat is no longer pink. Cut eyes, nose and mouth out of each cheese slice to create jack-o'-lantern. Place cheese on burgers; cook until cheese is slightly melted – about one minute. Serve on buns. Yield: 10 burgers.

PUMPKIN PUDDING

Preparation Time: 15 to 30 minutes

1 8oz carton vanilla yoghurt

1 c. cooked or canned pumpkin

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

COMBINE all ingredients in a bowl; stir until smooth, refrigerate until serving time. Yield: 4 servings.

TRICK OR TREAT MIX

Preparation Time: Less than 15 minutes

4 c. Corn Pops cereal

4 c. broken mini pretzel sticks

1 c. cashews

1 tbsp butter

½ tsp cinnamon

IN a large bowl, combine Corn Pops cereal, pretzels and cashews. In a microwave, melt butter with cinnamon. Pour over cereal mixture and toss to combine. Divide among treat bags, if desired. Yield: 6 ½ c.

PUMPKIN MARBLE CHEESECAKE

Preparation Time: Over 1 hour

1 ½ c. gingersnap crumbs

½ c. pecans, finely chopped

? c. margarine, melted

16 oz cream cheese, softened

¾ c. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 c. canned pumpkin

¾ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

PRE-HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Combine crumbs, pecans and margarine; press onto bottom as well as 1 ½ inches up the sides of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Combine cream cheese, ½ c. of the sugar and vanilla and mix at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, Reserve 1 c. of batter and chill. Add remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices to rest of, mix well. Alternately layer pumpkin and cream cheese batters over crust. Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect. Bake at 350F for 55 minutes. Loosen cake from pan rim. Cool before removing pan rim. Chill until serving time.