Melting Witch Candy Popcorn Halloween Party Mix

Create a spooky-sweet Halloween snack with green apple popcorn, pretzel fingers, and candy eyeballs!

Serves 8 Easy

Our own summary of the original by Sheryl — the full post and photos live at ladybehindthecurtain.com.

This Melting Witch Candy Popcorn mix combines crunchy green-apple flavored popcorn with creepy-cute finger pretzels, candy eyeballs, and warty peanuts. The popcorn is coated in a buttery green gelatin candy, baked, then mixed with homemade pretzel fingers and edible eyes. Perfect for a Halloween party treat that's as fun to make as it is to eat.

Directions

Pop one 3.2-ounce bag of microwave popcorn and transfer it to a large bowl. Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter with 3 tablespoons light corn syrup, stirring constantly. Once melted, add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the 3-ounce box of green apple gelatin. If you want a more intense green, stir in a few drops of lime green food coloring now. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for exactly 5 minutes.

Immediately pour the hot sugar mixture over the popcorn and stir until every piece is well coated. Spread the coated popcorn evenly onto the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. As soon as it's cool enough to touch, break the candy into pieces, being sure to separate any large clumps.

For the finger pretzels: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat lime green candy melts on high for 1 minute, stir, then microwave on 70% power for 30 seconds. Repeat if needed until smooth and creamy. Dip small pretzel sticks into the melted candy, covering them completely, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip the flat side of a candy-coated sunflower seed into the green candy and attach it to one end of each pretzel. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes until firm. Once hard, brush a little cocoa powder over the pretzels to give them a dirty look.

For the eyeballs: Melt white candy melts in a small microwave-safe bowl, then pour into a squeeze bottle. Melt black candy melts and pour into another squeeze bottle. Place a small dollop of white onto a round chocolate (like a Whopper or foil-wrapped eyeball candy), then add a dot of black in the center. To hold them upright while drying, press the eyes into a pan filled with rice. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes to harden.

Combine all the elements in a large bowl: the green apple popcorn, the finger pretzels, the eyeballs, honey-roasted peanuts (for warts), and black licorice strings (for hair). Toss gently to mix everything together.