Candy Snack Mix

Hello and Welcome to an extra episode of Adventures In Baking for this week!  I thought I'd finish October with a fun little treat that's great for parties and party favors.  I'm using the basic recipe, minus the bugles, from Cookies and Cups that can be found here. 

The ingredients.  Most of your major snack categories are represented.  Peanuts, popcorn, pretzels, M&M's and Chex Cereal. 

Let's get started.  Mix the popped popcorn, pretzels, peanuts and cereal in a large bowl.  Spread the mix out on a large jelly roll pan sheet.

Next step.  In a saucepan melt butter, sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil and boil without stirring for 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour over popcorn mix. 

Final step.  Bake for 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a sheet of parchment paper.  Sprinkle M&M's on top.  Cool and break into pieces.

Taste test.  It's sooooo good!  Homemade caramel corn.  I wish I'd broken the pretzels into smaller pieces, or used Goldfish pretzels.  There are so many variations to this basic recipe.  You can switch up the candy or use a different type of cereal.  I bet cashews would be a tasty addition. 

I've kept my mix in a sealed Ziploc bag and it's just as crunchy as it was the first day.  I'm heading out of town this weekend for an early Thanksgiving dinner with family and taking the bag of mix with me.  I know it's going to be a big hit!

Enjoy
-Teddra