Halloween Snack Mix

Name: Halloween Snack Mix
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter ((2 sticks)); 1 cup light brown sugar ((dark brown sugar can be used as well) ); 1 teaspoon kosher salt ((or to taste)); 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 bag Plain Chex cereal ((12 ounces)); 1 bag original Bugles ((8.75 ounces) ); 3 cups mini pretzels; 1 cup salted peanuts; 1 cup Halloween M&Ms ((or any M&Ms)); 1/2 cup candy corn; 1/2 cup candy pumpkins; 1/2 cup Reese's peanut butter cups, cut into pieces; 1/2 cup Twix candy bars, cut into pieces; 1/2 cup Snickers candy bars, cut into pieces; 1 tablespoon candy eyeballs ((optional)); 1/2 tablespoon Halloween sprinkles ((optional))

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This Halloween Snack Mix is a flavorful assortment of chips, cereals, pretzels, and nuts coated in a luscious brown sugar butter sauce baked to golden perfection and then tossed with candies and chocolates. The perfect sweet and salty snack mix for Halloween parties. Both kids and adults will love this easy-to-make snack!

Snack mix with Halloween candy, candy eyes, pretzels, bugles, and candy corn o na baking sheet in a large scooping spoon.

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This spooky snack mix is the best Halloween treat for a spooktacular evening. If you need the perfect crunchy snack for a scary movie night or for Halloween party treats, you'll love this perfect combo of sweet with a salty crunch.

This hodgepodge of goodies is going to be a great hit at your next spooky-themed party. Serve it with our Halloween charcuterie board, this Halloween chocolate bark this Halloween dry ice punch, this spooky spaghetti with meatball eyeballs, this black velvet cake, or these black velvet cupcakes.

Don't forget these Halloween pumpkin cookies or these delicious Halloween pancakes!

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❤️Why we love this recipe
🥨Ingredients
✨Substitutions & variations
🔪Prep work
📋Instructions
✨Tips & tricks
💭Frequently Asked Questions
More Recipes To Consider
📖 Recipe
💬 Community

❤️Why we love this recipe

Fun and easy recipe for Halloween season. It's super easy to put together and made with simple ingredients that can be found at any grocery store. All you have to do is coat the snack mix with a cinnamon brown sugar butter sauce, bake, and add the rest of the treats. It will take you less than 10 minutes to get everything ready for the oven.
Economical. A great way to feed a crowd without breaking your budget. Take advantage of the season and buy most of the sweet treats and other ingredients on sale to save a few bucks.
Versatile recipe. Swap, omit, or add ingredients as you please. Rummage through your goodie pantry and use whatever you have on hand, or whatever your favorite ingredients are.
Yummy give-aways. Other than serving it at parties, you can also place portions in snack bags and give them away to little trick-or-treaters, or use them as 'loot bags' with a gift tag on them for your guests.
Good for other holidays too. While this recipe is Halloween-centric, you can use other types of candies like mint M&Ms or candies with green and red colors for Christmas, or any other flavor combinations for different holidays and times of year.

🥨Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

Unsalted butter. We like to control the salt level. You can also use salted butter, but you may want to cut back on the added salt if you go this route.
Brown sugar. Light or dark brown sugar will work. This will give the butter sauce a deep caramel-like flavor.
Chex Mix. Use Plain Chex for this recipe, or else the mix will be too sweet.
Bugles. We used original Bugles because of the sweet coating. You could also use the caramel or the chocolate peanut butter flavor, but if doing so, you may want to skip adding them to the mixture of items that get baked, or they will be too sweet.
Candies. We used M&Ms, candy corn, candy pumpkins, candy eyes, and Halloween sprinkles.
Chocolate. We used chopped Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Twix, and Snickers. We used Halloween versions of the Twix, Snickers, and M&Ms for an extra Halloween flair!

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & variations

Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.

Spiced version. In addition to cinnamon, you can also add in some nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, allspice, or pumpkin pie spice for a more warm and spiced flavor.
Add popcorn. If you like, you can add in some popped popcorn with the other snacks that will get coated with the brown sugar sauce. Another great option is adding caramel corn or kettle corn after the snack mix comes out of the oven.
Swap the nuts. You can use macadamia nuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts, or almonds instead of peanuts if you'd like!
More candy. Add your favorites! Some great additions would be gummy worms, chocolate chips, or Reese's pieces.
Add cookies. Chop up some Halloween Oreos for an extra fun treat to the snack mix!
Trail mix version. Want to add a few more hearty ingredients? Try adding additional nuts, plus some dried berries or raisins, and some sunflower seeds!
Add a chocolate drizzle. Add your favorite candy melting wafers, chopped chocolate bars, or chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl or to a double boiler and melt the chocolate gently. Drizzle chocolate over clusters of the snack mix and allow it to cool and solidify completely before digging in.
Salted caramel version. Add a drizzle of this salted caramel when the snack mix comes out of the oven to cool down.
Use for different holidays. Enjoy this delicious snack mix through the fall season and beyond! This mix isn't only great for Halloween. You can serve it for any occasion with a few simple swaps. For Thanksgiving Simply swap the candies for peppermint, Hershey’s Kisses, candy canes, red and green M&M’s, and serve it for Christmas. For Valentine's Day, choose pink, red, and white candies. For Easter, try adding in some pastel candies, you get the idea!
Single-serve option. Instead of placing the Halloween Snack Mix in a serving bowl, place smaller portions in cupcake liners, paper cups, or even Halloween goody bags so guests can easily grab them off the table.
Nut free. If you'd like to omit nuts from the recipe entirely, be sure to leave out the peanuts, peanut butter cups, and Snickers.

🔪Prep work

Chop the chocolate bars into smaller pieces.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Prepare large baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If you don't have these things, cover baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray them with cooking spray to make sure nothing sticks.
Measure the rest of the ingredients.
Please note this recipe makes a very large batch fit for Halloween parties! You can scale back the recipe as needed.

📋Instructions

Add the pretzels, salted peanuts, Chex, and Bugles to a large bowl (or two large bowls) and mix together. Make sure this is ready to go because once the butter sauce is ready, you need to move fast!

Add butter and brown sugar to a small saucepan. (Image 1)

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, (Image 2) and let boil for 3 minutes. Make sure to stir regularly so the mixture doesn't burn and become bitter.

It will become quite thick and dark brown. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon. (Image 3)

brown sugar and butter melting in a saucepan.

Boiling brown sugar and butter mixture in a saucepan.

Immediately pour over the salty snacks and Chex mixture, and mix quickly to coat as quickly as possible. (Image 4) If you'd like, you can stop here, but we do highly recommend baking the mixture for the best flavor and more crunch!

salty snacks mixture in a large bowl and coated with brown sugar butter sauce.

✨Pro Tip: Work quickly! The hot butter and sugar mixture will begin to solidify quite fast, so you want to make sure you get the pieces coated as evenly as possible.

Place the mixture on the lined baking sheets. Put in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, take the mixture out and carefully mix everything around.

Put back into the oven for another 10 minutes, take the mixture out again and toss, then return to the oven for another (final) 10 minutes. (Image 5)

Cooked snack mix with pretzels, bugles, peanuts, and chex on a baking sheet.

✨Pro Tip: Don't skip tossing the mixture while baking! The butter sauce will melt gently in the oven, and tossing every 10 minutes ensures that everything gets coated more evenly.

After the full 30 minutes is up, allow to cool completely. After the snack mix is completely cooled, you can transfer it to a serving bowl or platter, and add the candy, chocolate pieces, sprinkles, and googly eyes. Toss to combine, and serve!

Large tray of Halloween snack mix with Googly eyes, sprinkles, candy corn, candy pumpkins, and chocolate candy bar pieces.

✨Tips & tricks

Check for allergens. If you're serving this to a crowd, make sure to label it properly, as it contains peanuts, wheat, and dairy, among other potential allergens.
Use parchment paper or a silicone mat. Always line your baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat, or greased aluminum foil to make cleanup easier and to prevent the mix from sticking to your baking pan.
Even coating. When you're mixing the butter mixture with the dry ingredients, make sure to stir quickly to coat as many pieces as possible.
Double-check the oven temperature. Make sure your oven is fully preheated before baking the mix. Ovens can be temperamental and they can be different from oven to oven, so if possible, use an oven thermometer to confirm the temperature.
Stirring is key. Make sure to stir the mix a few times while baking to ensure even cooking and to prevent burning, as well as coat more pieces in the brown sugar butter sauce.
Cool completely. It's important to let the mix cool completely on the baking sheet before adding the chocolate and candies to prevent them from melting.
Spread evenly on baking sheets. Try to spread the mix in a single, even layer on the baking sheet. You may need to use multiple baking sheets to achieve this.

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💭Frequently Asked Questions

How to store the leftovers?

Serve immediately or put in an airtight container like a ziplock bag and store in a cool, dry place at room temperature for up to 7-10 days. Refrigeration is not necessary, but, you can store them in the fridge if it's warm in your kitchen. Do not freeze.

Can I double the recipe?

Absolutely! This recipe does make a very large batch, but if you're having a large party, you can prepare another couple of sheet pans and bake them in batches.

Can I skip the baking process?

Yes, you can. Just pour the hot brown butter sauce into the mixture if you're in a rush, let it cool completely, then proceed as usual. We do highly recommend baking it for the best flavor and texture.

More Recipes To Consider

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