Halloween may be synonymous with candy, but making homemade treats can take the spookiest day of the year to a brand new level. Here are a few suggestions for the best goodies to pass out on Halloween night. As well as some simple tips to ensure your baking goes precisely as planned.
For the Trick-or-Treaters
When it comes to Halloween, the goal for most kids is simply to collect as much candy as possible. For the lucky few however, their neighbors pass out homemade treats. Check out these ideas below, the good news is they can all be individually wrapped to make passing them out to witches, ghosts, and superheroes much easier.
- Rice Cereal Treats (cut into bite size pieces, please)
- Peanut Clusters (can be Vegan if made with approved chocolate)
- Aunt Georgie’s Gizzies (to die for homemade chex mix!)
Gizzies
- 2 cups wheat chex cereal
- 2 cups rice chex ceral
- 2 cups corn chex cereal
- 2 cups Cheerios
- 2 cups pretzel sticks
- 3/4 cup mixed nuts
- 6 tbsp margarine or butter
- 4 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp season salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (plus more for sprinkling over finished Gizzies)
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together, set aside. Melt margarine in saucepan. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, season salt, garlic powder, and celery salt. Spread dry ingredients onto sheet pan, and pour sauce over. Stir to coat chex mix. Bake for 45 minutes total and stir Gizzies every 15 minutes. Sprinkle with extra garlic powder right after removing from oven.
Tips to Keep In Mind
If you are going to be spending any extra of your most precious commodity (time) to make homemade Halloween treats this October, you’ll want to take a precaution or two to ensure that your efforts are not in vain.
For starters, when making homemade candy, always place finished candies on a nonstick surface. Tin foil can work in a pinch, but removal can be difficult once the candy is cooled. Instead, plan ahead and buy some wax or parchment paper. It may save you more culinary heartache than you can imagine.
Always make sure your treats are completely cooled before storing in an airtight container. If they are still warm, residual heat will cause steam to become trapped in the container and alter the taste of the candies. It can also cause chocolate candies, like peanut clusters, to loose their glossy melted chocolate shine. At the very least, steam will make your homemade confections a little soggy.
