By Madalyn Watson | Print Managing Editor
Today is Friday the 13th. Find your closest friends, squeeze together on the couch, snuggle underneath a heap of blankets and turn off the lights off. It’s time to watch scary movies to celebrate.
Whether you gravitate towards a classic ‘80s slasher film like “Nightmare on Elm Street” or a modern psychological terror like “Hereditary,” you will need some snacks to munch on while you hide behind the protection of a pillow or your friend’s head.
Here are some quick and simple recipes to quell you and all your friends’ hunger during your horror film movie marathon.
Although Halloween is still over a month away, this holiday gives me an excuse to share one of my favorite themed treats.
Autumn Popcorn Mix
Popcorn mixed with candy and coated in sugar. For this recipe, you will need:
- 10 cups of lightly salted popcorn
- three tablespoons of butter
- three cups of mini marshmallows
- candy corn
- other candies like M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, sprinkles and the candy corn autumn mix.
To make your marshmallow, first, you combine the butter and mini marshmallows together in a saucepan and stir until marshmallows are melted.
Next, slowly pour the mixture over the popcorn and gently fold the popcorn with the marshmallow mixture until it’s coated evenly with your sugary concoction.
The less of the mixture you add, the less the popcorn will stick together. But the more you add, the more sticky the popcorn will be.
It’s all up to your personal taste — go ahead, give it a taste, so you can determine how much to pour. Just make sure you don’t pour all of the batter because you will need some for later.
Now, pour the popcorn evenly onto a cookie sheet covered with foil and push it down to be even like you are making rice crispy treats.
Before the popcorn and mix cool, drizzle the remaining marshmallow mixture and then sprinkle all the candies throughout the popcorn.
Let the popcorn and candy cool and dry before you break it up into pieces and enjoy.
Campfire Pretzel Bites
You can still enjoy ghost stories over a campfire with these S’mores!
Pretzels can turn the sweet campfire treat into a mix of sweet and salty that stimulates your tastebuds.
Take this typically outdoor treat indoors with three simple ingredients:
- pretzels
- mini marshmallows
- Hershey bars
First, you lay the pretzels down on a cookie sheet (with a piece of parchment paper underneath, if necessary, for easy clean up) and pre-heat your broiler on high.
Place three marshmallows on each pretzel and then put it in the oven for about two to three minutes.
After you take it out, place a Hershey chocolate piece on each pretzel and put it back into the oven for 1 to 2 minutes so that it will melt. Then, you finish off your unique S’more with the addition of another pretzel.
Smush it all together and enjoy this ooey gooey treat!
Caramel Apple Dip
Chips and Dip? Caramel Apples? What do you get when you combine these two delicious treats? A shared, party pleasing appetizer.
I remember my mother making several dessert-based dips growing up from crushed up Snickers bars with whipped cream to clump of peanut butter swirled with chocolate. All of these dips work perfectly with different fruits–especially apple slices.
This recipe for Caramel Apple Dip requires:
- eight ounces of cream cheese
- 14 ounces of caramel topping or sauce
- one cup of powdered sugar
- half a cup of apple butter
- optional: bits of toffee
- apple slices and crackers for dipping
The first step in this incredibly simple recipe is to beat all of the ingredients together. Then, place the mixture in a covered bowl and chill it in the refrigerator for two hours.
When serving, add extra caramel sauce and toffee bits for extra flavor in decoration. To personalize this, you can let your creativity shine, create a fun design or even a portrait of your favorite horror film killer.
