Eeewww, gross, Kathleen!

We're having a Halloween party. The 4-, 5- and 6-year-old grandchildren enjoyed it so much last year that they've decided to make it an annual event. They don't do Halloween parties in school anymore--it's a "Harvest" party, and this year they're not even allowing costumes--so I'm game, if for no reason other than to get another wearing out of those adorable costumes (Ariel, Snow White, Spiderman). Looking for new party ideas put me in mind of an old recipe that I thought I'd share. You've probably seen it and been totally grossed out. If you're adventuresome, maybe you've tried it and know that it's really quite good and can be the hit of the party, depending on your guests.

I discovered the recipe in the newspaper back when my daughter worked at Petco. We made it, and she took it to the store's break room for Halloween. She enjoyed (and related in detail) the responses, from the initial disgust to scraping the box for every last crumb. So for my contribution to recipe month, I give you....

Kitty Litter Cake

• 1 German chocolate or spice cake mix
• 1 (or 2 for better fill of the box) white cake mix
• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies
• green food coloring (and/or blue, as per your favorite kitty litter)
  
• 1 package small Tootsie Rolls (but a few large Tootsies can add variety)
• 1 small kitty litter pan (unused)
• 1 poop scooper (also unused)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare cake mixes and bake according to package directions (any size pan).
2. Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.
   
3. Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often. (Or put them in a plastic bag and smash with a hammer. Good therapy, less cleanup.) Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.
4. When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. You probably won't need all of the pudding, you want the cake to be just moist, not soggy.
5. Line kitty litter box with the kitty litter liner. (Or not. Your litter box is new and pristine.) Put cake mixture into box.
6. Put half the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. (Not runny. That would be gross.) This is the part the kids really like: Shape with pre-washed hands (use tongue for post washing only) to look like...you know. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.
7. Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs. (By this time the cat was clearly disgusted with his people, so I think we skipped that part.) Heat the remaining tootsie rolls until pliable and shape as before. Spread randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Don't hesitate to hang one tootsie roll over the side of the box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs. And, of course, erve with the pooper scooper.

Probably not Martha Stewart approved, but perfect for 6th grade boys, and teenagers have a great time with it. Since I won't be serving it to my wee ones, I'm still flipping through magazines. Any tips you care to share? What's your best--or worst--Halloween memory?