Family Fun’s Rat Bites

Family Fun’s Rat Bites are an easy no-bake Halloween treat made by shaping cake donut halves into little rats, covering them with chocolate frosting, and adding sliced-almond ears, candy eyes, pink noses, sprinkle whiskers, and long licorice tails. They’re creepy enough for Halloween but simple enough to turn into a fun edible Halloween craft for kids.

The most important trick is to freeze the shaped donuts before frosting them. Cake donuts can crumble once they’re cut, and chilling them makes decorating much easier. You can even slide a bamboo skewer into each donut while frosting so little hands have something to hold onto.

These Halloween rat treats were originally inspired by a Family Fun Magazine idea, and they remain one of those wonderfully goofy Halloween desserts that kids can help decorate without requiring baking, complicated candy work, or perfect decorating skills.

Why You’ll Love These Halloween Rat Bites

• No baking: Start with store-bought cake donuts and decorate.
• Kid-friendly: Kids can help frost, add ears, place candy eyes, and create their own rat faces.
• Budget-friendly: One donut makes two Rat Bites, stretching a small box of donuts into a full Halloween platter.
• Make-ahead friendly: Shape and freeze the donuts before your decorating session.
• Easy to customize: Several of the original candies can be replaced with easier-to-find alternatives.

What You Need to Make Rat Bites

You only need cake donuts, chocolate frosting, and a handful of candy decorations to transform ordinary donuts into creepy little Halloween rats.

• 6 cake donuts, cut in half
• chocolate frosting, or use my homemade chocolate frosting
• pink sugar pearls for noses
• chocolate-covered sunflower seeds for eyes
• black licorice laces for tails
• sliced almonds for ears
• chocolate sprinkles or jimmies for whiskers

Helpful Decorating Tools

You don’t need special equipment, but a few inexpensive decorating tools make this Halloween food craft much easier—especially when kids are helping.

• bamboo skewers for holding the chilled donuts while frosting
• food-safe decorating tweezers for positioning tiny candy noses, eyes, and whiskers
• small offset spatula for spreading frosting without tearing the cake donut
• parchment sheets for freezing and decorating without sticking

Watch How to Make Family Fun’s Rat Bites Halloween Treats

See how easy it is to turn simple cake donuts into creepy-cute Rat Bites for Halloween. This quick video walks you through shaping and freezing the donuts, frosting them, creating the furry texture, and adding the pink nose, candy eyes, almond ears, sprinkle whiskers, and black licorice tail. You’ll also see how the temporary decorating skewer makes frosting easier—and why it should be removed before serving.

How to Make Family Fun’s Rat Bites

1. Shape the Donuts

Cut each cake donut in half so one donut makes two rats. Carefully trim a small amount from the front of each half, narrowing one end to create the rat’s nose while leaving the rounded back wider.

Don’t over-carve the donuts. A simple tapered shape works better than trying to create lots of tiny notches, which can make cake donuts fall apart.

2. Freeze Until Firm

Place the shaped donut halves on a parchment-lined tray and freeze for about 2 hours, or until they feel firm.

Don’t skip this step. Chilling keeps the cut cake donut from crumbling while you spread the frosting.

3. Frost the Rat Bodies

Remove a few donut halves from the freezer at a time. Cover the tops and cut surfaces with chocolate frosting, leaving the flat bottom unfrosted.

For easier decorating, carefully insert a bamboo skewer into the bottom or back of the donut. Hold the skewer instead of the donut while spreading the frosting with a small offset spatula.

4. Give the Rats Some Fur

While the frosting is still soft, lightly drag the tines of a fork through it. Short, uneven strokes create a simple furry texture without needing a piping bag.

5. Add the Rat Faces

Now comes the fun part. Add the decorations while the frosting is still soft enough to hold them in place.

• Nose: Place one pink sugar pearl at the pointed end.
• Eyes: Position two chocolate-covered sunflower seeds just above the nose.
• Ears: Press two sliced almonds into the frosting behind the eyes.
• Whiskers: Insert several chocolate jimmies around the nose.
• Tail: Make a small opening in the back with a skewer and gently insert a black licorice lace.

Tiny decorations can be frustrating to position with fingers, so food-safe decorating tweezers are particularly useful for the eyes, noses, and whiskers.

Can’t Find the Original Candy Decorations?

One challenge with older Family Fun recipes is that some of the original decorating candies can be difficult to find. Fortunately, Rat Bites don’t need to look identical to be adorable—or appropriately creepy.

Instead of Chocolate-Covered Sunflower Seeds

Use another small candy-coated chocolate or similarly sized dark candy. The important thing is keeping the eyes small enough for the donut face.

Instead of Pink Sugar Pearls

A small pink candy works just as well. Pink Sixlets are a good option when you can find them.

Instead of Black Licorice Laces

Pull-apart licorice can be separated into thin strands and used for tails. If you want the classic look, black licorice laces give the rats long, flexible tails without needing to cut thicker candy.

Instead of Chocolate Sprinkles

Black sprinkles, rainbow jimmies, or other long sprinkles can become whiskers. This is also an easy place to let kids get creative instead of worrying about perfectly realistic rats.

Tips for Making Rat Bites with Kids

• Shape the donuts yourself. An adult can handle the cutting, then kids can take over most of the decorating.
• Freeze before the kids begin. Firm donuts are much less frustrating to frost.
• Use skewers as handles. Kids can hold the skewer while spreading frosting instead of squeezing the donut.
• Set up decorating bowls. Divide almonds, candy eyes, noses, whiskers, and tails into small bowls before everyone starts.
• Don’t aim for identical rats. Crooked ears and funny whiskers are part of the charm.

How to Serve Halloween Rat Treats

Arrange the finished rats on a dark platter, Halloween tray, or dessert board with their licorice tails curling around one another. They’re especially fun for a kids’ Halloween party, classroom-style celebration at home, movie night, or Halloween dessert table.

Because each donut makes two Rat Bites, six donuts will make approximately 12 individual Halloween treats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use chocolate cake donuts?

No. Plain cake donuts, glazed cake donuts, or another firm cake-style donut can work. Avoid extremely soft or airy donuts because they may be harder to cut and frost without tearing.

Why do the donuts need to be frozen?

Freezing firms the cut surface of the cake donut so it doesn’t crumble into the chocolate frosting. It also makes the shaped donut easier to hold while you decorate it.

Can I make Rat Bites ahead of time?

Yes. Shape and freeze the donuts ahead of time, then decorate them later. You can also make the completed rats several hours before serving and keep them covered in the refrigerator.

Can kids make these themselves?

Kids can handle most of the decorating, but an adult should cut and shape the donuts. For younger children, having the donuts already frozen and the decorations divided into bowls makes the activity much easier.

How should leftover Rat Bites be stored?

Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. For the best texture and appearance, enjoy them within 1 to 2 days. The licorice and candy decorations may soften slightly as they sit.

A Halloween Treat That Doubles as an Edible Craft

Family Fun’s Rat Bites are proof that Halloween treats don’t need complicated ingredients or perfect decorating skills to be memorable. A box of cake donuts, chocolate frosting, a few candies, and some imagination are enough to make an entire platter of creepy-cute donut rats.

For families, the best part may be making them rather than eating them. Freeze the donuts first, set out all the decorations, and let everyone create a rat with its own ridiculous personality.

You can also watch the original Family Fun Rat Bites video for another look at how the Halloween treats come together.