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Halloween: 8 Treats to Make
No tricks for caramel-covered apples, popcorn
There are no tricks to making homemade Halloween treats with recipes from the Yankee database. You can start with apples or popcorn and cover them with caramel.
Or try popcorn or cheese balls. Make peanut butter balls or peanut brittle. You might even try making your own marshmallows. Sweet! Start cooking!
Caramel-Covered Apples
Candy Recipes | Fruit Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 8 apples
- 1 14-ounce package individually wrapped caramels
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 8 apples, washed and dried
In a large saucepan over low heat, melt caramels and milk, stirring often. (Or in a medium glass bowl, melt caramels and milk in microwave.) Place wooden sticks into stem ends of apples and dip into caramel until well coated. Place on a wax-paper-lined baking sheet or platter. Let caramel apples set and cool, about 10 minutes, before eating.
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Popcorn Balls
Candy Recipes
Yield: Makes 12-14 balls or squares.
Wrapped in waxed paper, these also make a nice treat for Halloween.
- 12 cups popped popcorn
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup molasses
Place popcorn in large bowl. Melt butter in heavy saucepan, add sugar and molasses, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil mixture gently, without stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes, until it reaches 290 degrees F or the hard-crack stage. (When you drop a bit of syrup into a cupful of cold water, it should turn hard and brittle.) Pour syrup in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Move quickly but aim to cover as much popcorn as you can with the syrup. Let mixture sit for a minute or two until it is cool enough to handle. With lightly buttered hands press firmly into balls.
Popcorn Cakes: A variation of the above recipe is to mix popcorn with syrup as directed then flatten the mixture in a well-buttered baking pan, using a rolling pin to press it into a flat mass. When cool cut into small square cakes and wrap in waxed paper.
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Aunt Frances' Peanut Butter Balls
Candy Recipes
Yield: About 50 balls
My aunt Frances would always make these wonderful peanut butter balls during the holidays.
- 1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) margarine, melted
- 1 28-ounce jar peanut butter
- 1 box powdered sugar
- 2/3 bar paraffin
- 1 6-ounce bar German sweet (or semisweet) chocolate
Mix margarine, peanut butter, and sugar. Shape into small balls and place on wax paper. Put a toothpick into each one and refrigerate at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Next, melt paraffin and chocolate in top of a double broiler. Dip the balls, remove the toothpicks, and refrigerate. Don't let the balls touch each other until after the chocolate/paraffin mixture has hardened.
This recipe was submitted by one of our readers and has not been tested by our food editors. We are not responsible for errors in this recipe, but if you find one, please let us know in our feedback form.
Reviews by Readers
Very easy and simple recipe to follow and remember.Tastes great. – Reviewed by Penny Mawyer
These are also my late Aunt Margaret's holiday favorite. She would make them and give them as gifts for Christmas. All the kids in our family looked forward to having these each and every year. Now we continue the tradition since she has passed away, and our children love to get them also. These are my most favorite dessert to make (and eat!!!) around the holidays! You must try these. – Anonymous Review
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Cheese Balls
Candy Recipes | Miscellaneous Recipes
Serve small balls with wooden toothpicks; place large ball on a platter and surround it with assorted crackers.
- 1/2 pound cream cheese
- 1/4 pound Roquefort cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Combine cheeses and beat with electric mixer until smooth and well blended, Beat in Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, Cover and chill several hours, Shape cheese into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter, or 1 large ball, Roll in chopped nuts. Chill until serving time.
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Oven Caramel Corn
Candy Recipes
- 3-3/4 quarts (15 cups) popped corn
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup butter of margarine
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Use two 9x13-inch pans. Put half of corn in each. Mix brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir (in saucepan) until it bubbles around the edge. Cook 5 minutes more. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Stir until foamy. Pour half over each pan. Stir until corn is covered. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Variation: To make jello popcorn, omit brown sugar and add 2 small (3-ounce) boxes jello.
This recipe was submitted by one of our readers and has not been tested by our food editors. We are not responsible for errors in this recipe, but if you find one, please let us know in our feedback form.
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Molasses Candy
Candy Recipes
Yield: Makes about 4 dozen pieces.
An old-fashioned candy that requires pulling.
- 2 cups molasses
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
Combine molasses, brown sugar, and butter in heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and continue boiling gently until mixture reaches 248 degrees F or the hard ball stage (when a bit of syrup dropped into cold water forms a firm ball that isn't sticky). Remove from heat, stir in vinegar, and pour onto buttered platter. Do not refrigerate, but allow to cool gradually at room temperature. As soon as candy is cool enough to handle (it will be somewhat sticky) with buttered hands gather it into a ball and with the help of a friend or a hook on the wall, begin to pull it briskly. Pull until candy whitens and is cold. Cut into bite-sized pieces and wrap in waxed paper, twisting the ends of the paper to keep it in place.
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Peanut Brittle
Candy Recipes
Yield: 10x12-inch sheet
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups raw peanuts
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
Line a 10x12-inch cookie sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. In a heavy pot, mix together the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the peanuts. Cook, stirring often, until the peanuts smell parched, about 15 minutes. Add the baking soda and stir quickly. The mixture will foam, then turn a golden color. Quickly pour on the foil-lined cookie sheet. When cool, break into pieces.
Reviews by Readers
Loved it, just loved it. – Reviewed by Byren Conforti
After making another recipe [microwave], which turned out to be a big disaster, I used your recipe. My husband said best brittle he's ever eaten. But I did use butter. – Reviewed by JEANNE BORN
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Star-Shaped Marshmallows
Cookies and Bars Recipes
Preparation Time: 50 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 10 hours
Yield: about 30 marshmallows
- Marshmallows are easy to make at home and have a great shelf life.
- 1/2 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dipping cookie cutter
- 1/4 cup sifted cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water, divided
- 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Special tools: candy thermometer
Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch, then sift about half of the mixture evenly over the lined sheet. Reserve the rest.
Place 1/4 cup water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over water; allow it to sit 5 minutes to “bloom” and soften. Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/4 cup water, 3/4 cup sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan, then stir to combine.
Bring the sugar mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Next, place egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl and beat until frothy with an electric mixer. Add cream of tartar, then continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a candy thermometer, check sugar syrup; it should be nearing 240°. Beat 2 tablespoons sugar into egg whites, then continue beating until stiff peaks form.
When the syrup reaches 240°, remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture until it dissolves.
With the mixer running, slowly add the syrup to the egg whites in a thin stream; keep the syrup from hitting the beaters or the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat until the mixture is thick, glossy, and cool, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract.
Scrape the mixture onto the prepared pan, quickly spreading to a 1/2-inch thickness with a spatula. Sift remaining sugar-cornstarch mixture over the top. Allow it to dry out at room temperature overnight. Dip a small star-shaped cookie cutter in confectioners’ sugar and cut out marshmallow stars. (They may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 1 month.)
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