Cinnamon Sugar Caramel Popcorn

Is everyone ready for Halloween? I hope you have your costumes and candy ready. If you want to make a special treat this weekend try my Cinnamon Sugar Caramel Popcorn and/or Gaby's Gingersnap Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches! Both are sure to be a hit! I know I am making both:)

I love making caramel corn every fall, but this year I spiced it up a little bit. I added cinnamon and sugar to the mix. I used my basic caramel corn recipe, but went a little light on the caramel. I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar over the popcorn and mixed it well. I drizzled some of it with white chocolate, it was good, but I liked it better plain. This popcorn is a great snack to have around while you pass out candy, carve pumpkins, or watch a scary movie.

It is a low key year for us since we have been working on our basement, but it is 99% done:) We just have to put the furniture back and organize. Josh did an amazing job. He is such a stud:) So no costumes or parties for us, but we will carve pumpkins and pass out treats to the little ghosts and gobblins in our neighborhood. I also plan on roasting pumpkin seeds-the best part about carving pumpkins:)

Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone! Don't forget to visit What's Gaby Cooking for another tasty Halloween treat!

Cinnamon Sugar Caramel Popcorn

(Printable Recipe)

1 stick butter

1/4 cup corn syrup

Air popped popcorn-I used 1/4 cup kernels

1 cup brown sugar

1 /2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cinnamon and Sugar mix and white chocolate if you want it

Preheat oven to 250F.

Pop popcorn using your air popper! Spread popcorn out onto two large baking sheets. Make sure it is evenly spread between the two pans.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar, corn syrup and salt; stir until well combined. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture comes to a rapid boil, let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Stir in the vanilla.

Gradually pour the caramel mixture over the popped corn, mixing well on the pans. You can do this in a bowl but why dirty more dishes? I do it right on the pans. Sprinkle popcorn with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, make sure you stir it often. Maybe every ten minutes or so. Remove from pan and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and sugar. You can drizzle white chocolate over the popcorn if you wish!

If you like my cinnamon sugar caramel popcorn, you might also like:
Sweet and Salty Butterscotch Candied Popcorn from Picky Palate
Festive Popcorn from Big Red Kitchen
Herbed Buttermilk Popcorn from 101 Cookbooks

Halloween Chocolate Candy Bark

We have been busy with our basement remodel project so we really haven't thought about Halloween this year. I don't even know if we will dress up. Josh wanted to be an Orka whale, but he couldn't find a costume. Darn:) He is known for his crazy costumes, so I am sure he will come up with something. We do have pumpkins and I made Halloween Chocolate Candy Bark over the weekend.

My neighborhood friend, Anna, came over on Saturday and helped me with the chocolate bark. We used a recipe from A Field Guide to Candy, by Anita Chu. I've been a huge fan of Anita's blog, Dessert First, for years. I was finally able to meet her at the Blogher conference and she is just as sweet as her desserts:) I just love her. I was so excited to try a recipe from her new candy book.

The bark was really easy to make. We used white chocolate as the base and added in crushed Oreos, Butterfinger pieces, and M & M's. We drizzled the Butterfinger section with milk chocolate too.

Once the bark hardened up, we broke it into chunks. I loved how fun and festive it looked. If you are looking for an easy treat for Halloween, give this bark a try. The monsters and gobblins will love it:)

Don't forget to check out Anita's book, A Field Guide to Candy. There are over 100 candy recipes that will surely send you into sugar heaven. I can't wait to try them all!

Halloween Chocolate Candy Bark

Adapted from A Field Guide to Candy by Anita Chu

(Printable Recipe)

14 ounces white chocolate

Crushed up Oreos

Crushed up Butterfinger Bars

Mini M & M's

Milk Chocolate-for drizzling

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the white chocolate in a metal bowl. Put the metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir the chocolate frequently with a rubber spatula. When the chocolate is smooth and fully melted, remove the bowl from the heat. Wipe off the bowl if there is any condensation.

3. Let the white chocolate cool for a minute or two. Stir to make sure it doesn't harden. Pour the chocolate onto the baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread it with a spatula until it is about 3/8 inch thick.

4. Sprinkle Oreos, Butterfinger pieces, M & M's over the white chocolate. I did this in sections.

5. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave and drizzle over the Butterfinger portion.

6. Let the chocolate cool and harden. I put the pan in the refrigerator. It was ready in about 30-45 minutes.

7. Once the chocolate is set and hard, break bark into pieces.

If you like my Halloween Bark, you might also like:

Vanilla Bean Chocolates from Dessert First

Tootsie Roll Fudge from Food Blogga

Candy Corn Cookies from The Cooking Photographer

Peanut Butter Cups from Vanilla Sugar

Pumpkin Blondies from Two Peas and Their Pod

Pumpkin Blondies with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chips

I met Gaby, from What's Gaby Cooking?, at the Blogher Food Conference in San Francisco. We follow each other's blogs, we are friends on Facebook and Twitter, and we email, so it was nice to finally meet in person. We have a lot in common-sometimes we post the same or similar recipes without even knowing it:)

We wish we could cook and bake together, but she lives in California and I am in Utah. So every Friday we are teaming up from afar and posting similar recipes. For the next couple of weeks we will be focusing on our favorite fall recipes. Today is Pumpkin Treats-I made pumpkin blondies and Gaby made pumpkin cheesecakes. We hope you enjoy our joint posts.

It's not fall without pumpkin treats, but there is a pumpkin shortage going on. Aggh! I had to go to 4 stores to find 3 cans of pumpkin. I bought them all. I will have to be very selective on what I bake with pumpkin this fall until the shortage is over.

I started out with pumpkin blondies. Of course, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lots of vanilla were involved. I also threw in cinnamon chips and white chocolate. The blondies were more cakey than a normal cookie blondie, the pumpkin kept them very moist. I loved the cinnamon and white chocolate together too. I highly recommend you try that combination.

We took the pumpkin blondies to our neighborhood party and they were gone in minutes-no joke. Everyone was asking for the recipe. So here you have it! Good luck finding pumpkin-if I see you at the store, I will tackle you for it:)

Don't forget to check out Gaby's pumpkin swirl cheesecake! It looks super duper delicious!

Pumpkin Blondies with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chips

Adapted from Martha Stewart

(Printable Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.Spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Add the pumpkin puree. Reduce speed to low, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Don't overmix. Stir in the white and cinnamon chips by hand.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. The sides will pull away from the pan and brown a bit. Do the toothpick test, if it comes out clean. They are done. Cool completely in pan. Lift the blondies from the pan, using the foil. from pan. Peel off the foil and cut into squares.

If you like these pumpkin blondies you might also like:

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars from Megan’s Cookin

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies from Cookie Madness

Pumpkin Bars from Real Mom Kitchen

Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones from Two Peas and Their Pod

Crockpot (Slow Cooker) Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce

When we were in California for the Blogher Food Conference we stopped to visit Josh's mom in Placerville, which is Apple Hill country. We drove through the orchards, vineyards, and forests. It is a beautiful area, but beware if you get car sick. Those windy roads killed me:) It was worth it though because we bought the best apples ever.

We stocked up on: Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Empire, Honey Crisp, and Mutsu apples. I had never had a Mutsu apple before, but it is now one of my favorites. They are big green apples that are crisp and sweet, but also have a little tartness to them. It was so fun sampling new apples and picking them out ourselves.

I love eating apples for a healthy snack, but of course my mind kicked into cooking/baking gear and started dreaming up what I could make with these apples. When I saw Cookin' Canuck's family applesauce recipe, I knew I had to try it.

I love this recipe because it is effortless! You make the applesauce in the crockpot (slow cooker) and there is no canning involved. The hardest part is chopping the apples, which I didn't mind doing. I like chopping, it's a great stress reliever:) I used a mixture of our CA apples-Gala, Honey Crisp, and Granny Smith. I also added in lots of cinnamon. The house smelled amazing while the applesauce was simmering.

I like chunky applesauce so I didn't mush it up too much. If you want super smooth applesauce puree it in a food processor or blender. My favorite way to eat applesauce is on whole wheat toast. I use applesauce instead of jam. Weird? Probably, but that is me:) You can also stir it into your oatmeal, use it in your baking, or just enjoy it plain.

Crockpot (Slow Cooker) Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce

Recipe adapted from Cookin' Canuck

(Printable Recipe)

5 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced

2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced 2 medium Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced Fresh lemon juice

2 T sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup water

Place all of the apple pieces in a large bowl. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the apples and stir. Add in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour water into the bottom of a large crockpot and add the apples. Put the lid on the crockpot and turn on. Cook for about 8 hours on low or on high for 5 hours. Stir occasionally. If you want smooth applesauce, puree in a food processor or blender. I like mine chunky. Keep in the fridge for a week or 2. You can freeze it.

Makes approximately 4 cups of applesauce.

If you like this applesauce recipe, you might also like:

Applesauce Spice Cake from Simply Recipes

Whole Wheat Apple Spice Muffins from Pinch My Salt

Cranberry, Raisin, and Walnut Applesauce from Food Blogga

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod