Halloween is just around the corner. While it is not one of my favorite holidays, I must be one of the few who feels that way. Decorations and treats have been in the stores for months. Today I have some special Halloween trivia and treats for you to prepare.
• Candy corn kernels yearly sales, if laid out end to end, would wrap around the Earth 4.25 times. It is the most popular bought candy during Halloween. Americans buy 20 million pounds of it.
• It takes an average of 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
• During Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration, Jelly Belly served more than three tons of jelly beans.
• During World War II, Tootsie Rolls were given to soldiers because of the ability of the candy to be durable in all weather conditions.
• Every state has a candy preference. Mississippi’s is the Hershey’s Kiss.
• Americans will buy 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween.
• A typical Halloween loot bag has about 11,000 calories.
• Chocolate is the favorite candy of most children. Snickers is the most popular chocolate candy bar.
• Smarties are your best bet when watching calories — only 25 calories per roll.
• Most people give trick-or-treaters candy that is their favorite.
• The man who invented the Ring Pop did so to stop his daughter from sucking her thumb.
• Until the 1930s, the Sugar Daddy caramel sucker was called the Papa Sucker.
• The candy manufacturer NECCO produces over 750 million candy buttons each year. In the 1930s, Admiral Byrd brought 2½ tons of NECCO Wafers to the South Pole for his men during their two-year stay.
• Bubble gum is pink because when it was invented, pink was the only food color dye on hand.
Hope you will give these Halloween-inspired treats a try. Thanks for reading.
BOO MIX
5 cups Golden Grahams cereal
3 cups Cocoa Puffs cereal
2 cups Reese’s Pieces
2 cups peanuts
3 cups pretzel sticks
24 ounces almond bark
Place cereals, Reese’s pieces, peanuts and pretzels in the largest bowl you own. Break up almond bark and melt according to package directions. Pour over cereal mixture. Stir until everything is well coated; spread out onto waxed or parchment paper. Let stand until completely dry, and then break into bite-size pieces.
CANDY CORN WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups white chocolate chips
Orange gel food coloring
Yellow gel food coloring
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat shortening and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Divide dough into three equal portions. Stir the white chocolate chips into one portion. Add orange food coloring to one portion, mixing well. Add 2/3 of a cup of chocolate chips. Add yellow food coloring to the remaining portion, mixing well. Add 2/3 of a cup of chocolate chips. Take 2 teaspoons of each color of dough and roll into a ball. Place side by side on baking sheet, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Continue this process until all dough is used.
QUICK AND EASY HALLOWEEN TREATS
1 package candy corn
1 jar dry roasted peanuts
Mix well and place in individual bags. These will disappear quickly. Great for trick-or-treaters or to share at work.
• Contact Lee Ann Flemming at lafkitchen@hughes.net.
