Only one week away from, undoubtedly, the sweetest holiday of the year: Halloween! While this spooky night consists of crazy theme parties, tacky costumes, and a candy binge… we can all agree that the morning after will be all the more frightening. Though I can’t promise to cure your sugar hangover, here are some sinfully delicious recipes that might tempt you more than that bowl of Hershey kisses!
Bloody Caramel Apples: For this recipe you will need one stick of butter, two cups light brown sugar, one cup light corn syrup, one can sweetened condensed milk, kosher salt, one teaspoon vanilla, one to two teaspoons red food coloring, 10-12 medium apples, 10-12 ice-pop sticks. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk and salt and continue to stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and a clip-on candy thermometer reads 235°F. Remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring and stir. Allow to cool to 200°F. Poke ice-pop sticks into tops of apples and dip into caramel mixture, rotating to coat. Place on a silicone baking liner or waxed paper until caramel sets.
Chocolatey Candy Corn Popcorn: For this recipe you will need 8 ounces of good quality white chocolate, 10 cups popped popcorn, three cups of lightly broken pretzels, one cup of candy corn, 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it with cooking spray. In a small bowl, add the white chocolate pieces and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. In a large bowl toss popcorn, pretzels and melted white chocolate until well coated. Spread mixture onto baking tray and let cool in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Then use same process for the white chocolate to melt the dark chocolate. Drizzle dark chocolate over mixture and let cool in fridge until hardened. Remove from fridge and break up popcorn slightly. Place in serving bowl and sprinkle candy corn over. Serve immediately.
Halloween Krispie Treats: For this recipe you will need three to four tablespoons unsalted butter, one 10 ounce bag of marshmallows, one teaspoon vanilla, six to seven cups of Rice Krispie cereal, one cup mini marshmallows, one cup M&M’s, one cup Reeses pieces, one cup broken pretzels, one cup candy corn. Line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment and spray generously with nonstick spray. In a large saucepan melt butter and add marshmallows. Melt slowly and stir often. In a large mixing bowl toss together cereal with mini marshmallows, M&M’s Reeses, pretzels, and candy corn. When butter mixture is smooth add the vanilla and stir. Fold the mixed dry ingredients all at once into the butter mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Use damp hands to press firmly into pan. Let set for four hours and remove from pan. Cut into small squares.
Some handy tips to stay healthy during the candy eating season are: 1) mix indulgent chocolate pieces with low-calorie fillers like cereal and popcorn 2) incorporate pumpkin puree into baked goods for a nutritious, low calorie, and delicious alternative to butter and 3) soak up some of the great fall weather– a little extra exercise can make up for the extra piece or two of chocolate!