Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Weekend Gourmet Flashback: Ghoulishly Good Halloween Snack Mix

In the early days of The Weekend Gourmet, I featured a fun sweet Halloween snack mix. With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it was high time for me to share the recipe for my Ghoulishly Good Halloween Snack Mix once again. This crunchy, sweet snack mix features popcorn, rice cereal squares, bite-size Oreos, and lots of fun Halloween candy...all covered in a sweet homemade salted caramel coating. 

One of the best things about this recipe is that it makes a TON! I like to serve this colorful snack mix in a large orange Halloween bucket. The plastic Frankenstein figure is optional, but really fun! This addictive treat makes a fantastic game day snack during the football season, and it's perfect for any Halloween parties you might be attending this month. Everyone I've made this mix for absolutely loves it. To keep the seasonal fun going, I serve this snack mix in fun Halloween cups.

Ghoulishly Good Halloween Snack Mix
adapted from Chex Cereal

Ingredients:
  • 1 package microwave popcorn (4 cups popped popcorn)
  • 4 cups rice cereal squares (Note: I used Rice Chex)
  • 1 cup mini Oreo cookies
  • 1 cup Reese's Pieces
  • 1 cup candy corn
For the salted caramel:
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tbs. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tbs. light corn syrup
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
Step 1: Pop the microwave popcorn. Add the popcorn, rice cereal squares, and mini Oreos to a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. You'll add Reese's Pieces and candy corn to the mix at the end. The hot salted caramel will melt the candy pieces if you add it to the mix before then.
Step 2: Melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the brown sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and salt. Stir to dissolve the brown sugar and corn syrup in the butter. Bring the salted caramel mixture to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, and cook for 1 minute. Remove the salted caramel from heat and set aside for 2-3 minutes to let it cool slightly.
Step 3: Pour the warm salted caramel over the mixture in the bowl, and stir to evenly coat the ingredients. Microwave the mix for 3 minutes. Stop the microwave in 1-minute increments and stir to completely coat the mix. After microwaving, add the Reese's Pieces and candy corn to the bowl. Stir very gently with a rubber spatula so you don't melt the candy. Evenly spread the snack mix onto a piece of aluminum foil that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. Let the mix cool for about 30 minutes, then break into pieces and place in a Halloween serving bowl.
This addictive seasonal snack mix is crunchy and full of colorful Halloween colors. I love the combination of the crunchy cereal and popcorn, sweet cookies, and bursts of candy. The salty-sweet caramel coating is a light glaze, and its flavor matches well with the other flavors in the mix. I guarantee that if you whip up a batch of this Ghoulishly Good Halloween Snack mix, kids of all ages will go stark-raving mad for it!!

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