Halloweeeeen

I made so many Halloween treats this year that I didn't even get a chance to make the Jack Skellington cupcakes I had my heart set on. Oh well...next year! I still have a bag of See's sour bats that I was going to use on the cupcakes and now I don't know what to do with them.

On the 30th I spent the night roasting pumpkin seeds (which no one likes but me) and baking snack mix for Ray to take to his Halloween potluck at work. I was so tired I forgot to take a picture of them all wrapped up in their cute little treat bags.

The recipe was easy, really tasty and made a huge bowlful, plus I imagine it can be modified with different candy for different holidays. This one's for you, Mercedes! :)

Halloween Party Mix

1 (11 ounce) package pretzels
1 (9 1/2 ounce) box of mini peanut butter filled Ritz sandwich crackers
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 (10 ounce) package M&M's
1 (18 1/2 ounce) package candy corn

-In a large mixing bowl, combine first 3 ingredients.
-In a large saucepan, combine sugar, butter and corn syrup.
-Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 5 minutes.
-Remove from the heat, stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam).
-Pour over pretzel mixture and fold mixture until coated.
-Pour into a large greased 15x10 inch baking pan. (I line mine with foil first.)
-Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
-Break apart while warm.
-Cool completely.
-Toss with M&M's and candy corn.
-Store in airtight container.

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A Tip From the Kitchen McMitchell:
The first batch I made I tried to "toss" the candy and the mix before I bagged them up, which didn't work very well because the candies all fell to the bottom of the bowl. (Natch!) The next batch I made I bagged the snack mix without the candy and then stirred the candies together and then added some candies to each bag. This turned out to be much easier and far less messy! This is also very important when you're trying to make snacks in a costume. (Too bad I don't have any pictures of that, eh? What fun!)