The beauty of Halloween treats is that you don’t have to worry about making them pretty.

In fact, the uglier they are, the better. And that was our inspiration for this baked treat.

We wanted a bar that was appropriately loaded with sugar (it is the high holiday of sweets, after all) and looked as though somebody had dragged it through a swamp.

So we came up with Bog Bars, which start as a basic blondie-like bar studded with dried cherries. Then they’re smeared melted chocolate and topped with gummy worms and pretzels, resembling the snakes and twigs one surely encounters during midnight swamp strolls.

<B>2 cups dried cherries½ cup apple or orange juice¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter2¼ cups packed brown sugar3 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract2¼ cups all-purpose flour1½ teaspoons salt16 chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into large pieces, divided12 ounces milk chocolate bits2 honey graham crackers, broken½ cup mini marshmallows½ cup pretzel sticks (broken)Handful gummie worms or bugs2 green fruit roll-ups, torn into pieces</B>Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray.In a microwave-safe dish, combine the cherries and juice.Microwave on high until bubbling, about one minute. Set aside to cool.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions.Stir in the vanilla.Add the flour and salt and mix just until combined. Drain the reserved cherries, then add them and half of the broken chocolate cookies.Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and set.While the bars are still hot, sprinkle the milk chocolate bits over the surface. Allow to melt.Use the back of a spoon to spread the melted chocolate to cover the surface.Sprinkle with the broken graham crackers, marshmallows, pretzels, gummie worms, the remaining chocolate cookies and the pieces of fruit roll-ups.Allow to cool.