So, why is food a key point in any celebration? There’s more than one answer, but simply put, it’s a religious, cultural and psycho-social phenomenon that has been with people pretty much since the beginning of time.

From a religious standpoint, we see virtually every faith having some sort of canon when it comes to food. Christians have bread and wine at mass, Judaism has the Passover Seder, Hinduism is all about a vegetarian diet as part of ahimsa—non-violence and compassion towards all living things.

Culturally speaking, the concept of celebratory food is often thought of in the form of national delicacies and food you can’t disconnect from its people. Think Singapore and its cultural hawker food identity.

Heck, even if it has nothing to do with culture or religion (or the fact that food is mostly what keeps us going as fleshy, flabby bags of meat and bone [spooky enough for ya?])—the brain is conditioned to make sure food gets even better.

So, it should come as no surprise that no celebration can go without food. Halloween is no exception.

Danielle of Endora’s Bakehouse in Dallas, Texas is known for her Halloween cookie art. Each year, she whips out her cookie making and crafting contraptions to create some of the most detailed, unique and, of course, spookiest delicacies out there. After all, she is the Halloween cookie queen.

Following college, Danielle went to culinary school and worked at several bakeries and restaurants in her area. She eventually found herself doing a lot of work at home, focusing on the creative aspect of baking after doing dozens of hearth breads and laminated pastries throughout the years.

One thing led to another and now Halloween cookies (among many other occasion-themed delicacies) grace Danielle’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

“I usually plan my Halloween cookies based on a color scheme. I'll pick my palette and then build out designs from there,” explains Danielle on her work process.

And this one-step-at-a-time sort of approach seems to be one of the best tactics when it comes to baking Halloween-themed confectionery as it’s hard to really explain what goes and what doesn’t for Halloween. Anything can be spooky.

“There are so many different types of Halloween foods, I think it's hard to categorize it! Decorated cookies can be real works of art but I have seen ‘guts’ cinnamon rolls that are amazingly disgusting and delicious.”

And if this list has inspired you to whip out them baking utensils and go to town on that batter, Danielle shared a trick that’s sure to make your culinary Halloween endeavors epic:

“Start with a food you have already made or are interested in trying and then giving it a Halloween twist. Some of these projects can be so cool, but overwhelming for beginners. Start with a base you know! Even if it's just chocolate chip cookies with candy eyeballs, they are a big hit!”

Whenever you think of Halloween, you probably picture things like jack-o’-lanterns, bats and spiders, witches, skeletons and ghosts—essentially anything that’s sure to give some good spooks.

Halloween stems from a Celtic tradition called Samhain when folks would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts (and probably other undead creatures found in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual).

And when Christian influence did its thing in a number of cultures, including Celtic, the two quickly merged and so we have All Saints’ Day—a celebration to honor the dead, whether they are saints, martyrs or just regular mortals.

In its early days in the US, Halloween was widely celebrated in Maryland and some southern colonies. A very strictly limited celebration was seen in colonial New England because of Protestantism.

Later, the beliefs and customs of the various European ethnic groups populating America mashed with the local Indian customs to create a distinct “American” version of Halloween, featuring play parties—events to celebrate harvests. Folks would share stories of the dead, tell of fortunes, sing and dance. Think of it as a themed block party, minus the trick-or treating, because that didn’t show up until the late 1800s.

So, if you’ve enjoyed this good read (or this good look… or both?), then Bored Panda’s got more where that came from.

And definitely be sure to check out Danielle’s Instagram and Facebook where she shares all her culinary artwork.

But if you’re ready to jump into the Halloween spirit by baking a cake (or thirteen), then please share your stories or maybe what your costume will be this year in the comment section below before you go!