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More than usual this year, I’ve been scouting around for Halloween treats to make.   I typically only oogle at all the fun stuff posted around the interwebs, bookmarking and filing ideas away into the recesses of my brain.  But I feel much more “in the spirit” this year, quite possibly because our new house is finally under construction (!!!) thus giving me a big project to focus on other than everyday “life stuff.”   And dare I say that I’m stoked to get my Martha on with some glitter, Mod Podge, and pumpkins?!

This Monster Munch popcorn mix is one of the treats I Pinned a few weeks back and I was immediately sold.  It is chocolate covered popcorn with candy after all – how bad could it be? – and it took me all of maybe 8 minutes to put this popcorn mix together over the weekend, thanks to my new Whirley-Pop that revolutionized my life with fresh popcorn in 3 minutes.  That’s my kind of treat!  I can’t ever seem to find almond bark in the grocery store (should I just order it from Amazon?) so I used orange candy melts, which were way more festive than white chocolate/bark anyway.  You’ll toss your favorite add-ins into the fresh popcorn – anything from candy to nuts or even pretzel snaps – then drizzle on some melted chocolate and stir everything together.  It’s almost an instant Halloween treat!

Monster Munch (Halloween Popcorn Mix)
source: adapted from Our Best Bites

You can definitely melt regular chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, milk, or white) in place of the bark/candy melts but the bark/candy melts set up and sit better at room temperature than chocolate does.  It’s really your choice here!

Ingredients:

  • 1 package Almond Bark (1 lb) or 1 bag (14oz) Wilton candy melts
  • 12 cups popped popcorn (from about 1/2 cup kernels)
  • 1 cup candy corn
  • 1 cup dry roasted, honey roasted peanuts
  • 3/4 cup M&Ms

Instructions:

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Melt chocolate according to package directions.
  3. Put the popped popcorn in a very large bowl, taking care to remove all of the unpopped kernels before proceeding – you don’t want any cracked teeth!  Note: You may need to do this step in two batches if you don’t have a big enough bowl for all of the popcorn.  Add the candy corn, peanuts, and M&Ms to the top of the popcorn.  Pour the chocolate over the top of the popcorn and mix-ins.  Using a large spoon, carefully stir the chocolate into the popcorn, working in large scoops up from the bottom of the bowl.
  4. Spread the popcorn mixture out on the baking sheets and let set-up for 30 minutes at room temperature before breaking the popcorn into chunks.  If you’re in a hurry, you can pop the baking sheets in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.