You've Probably Never Had Anything Like These Vintage 'Goblin Sandwiches'

Ask your average American child what Halloween's all about, and odds are, you'll hear about candy. Getting candy, counting candy, eating all the candy. Sure, costumes, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carvings, and parties come into play, but for today's kids, isn't Halloween primarily a candy delivery system? Well, it wasn't always this way, according to ABC7 Chicago. For example, back when Halloween originated as the Celtic festival Samhain, no celebration was complete without a sweet yeast bread known as Barmbrack. 

Halloween candy took hold in the United States during the 20th century, per History, but only after decades during which social gatherings were the focus, also according to History. Halloween parties at the turn of the century focused on non-scary costumes, games, and fall-themed foods. Even as trick-or-treating for candy grew popular, Halloween parties remained appealing to adults because they kept the kids in one place, and hopefully out of mischief. To make it easier, books and pamphlets circulated with advice on what to serve, per Rubenstein Library Test Kitchen at Duke University.

That's where these vintage "goblin sandwiches" come in — from a pamphlet titled, "How to Run a 1946 Halloween Party."  No doubt timely then, they seem wonderfully idiosyncratic today thanks to their use of such disparate ingredients as deviled ham, avocado, and ... donuts?

If you live in Queensland, you may be familiar with another goblin sandwich, which is made with a much more common combination of ingredients. Though also an older recipe (first published in newspaper "The Queenslander" in 1936, according to Sarah's Vintage Kitchen), Australia's iteration of the festive snack is simply a ham and cheese sandwich topped with edible decorations to resemble a scary goblin face. But you've probably never seen — or tasted — anything like the vintage goblin sandwich recipe published in "How to Run a 1946 Halloween Party," and shared by the Rubenstein Library Test Kitchen at Duke University.

Conceived circa 1946, naturally, for the Doughnut Corporation of America (making it younger than the more expected Queensland goblin sandwich), these unique goblin sandwiches are made of ingredients seldom used together today. To make a goblin sandwich in the style of 1940s America, you'll need a donut (perhaps of the apple cider variety?), avocado, Brazil nuts, deviled ham, and Worcestershire sauce. The ingredients (minus the donut) are combined and then spread on the split donut to create a sandwich.

If you find yourself so inclined, the Rubenstein Library Test Kitchen recommends making the vintage recipe and serving it immediately, so that the ghoulish green of the avocado doesn't fade.