holiday munch

Cashew Corn Cherry Crunch
Preparation time: 10 min.
Yield: 12 (half-cup) servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cups of cashews
1 (5 ounce) package corn nuts
2 cups dried cherries

Melt
butter in 10-inch skillet, add cumin and red pepper. Stir in cashews
and corn nuts. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until
lightly browned (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat and serve.

Chocolate Chip & Almond Carmel Corn
Preparation time: 20 min. Baking time: 45 min.
Yield: 15 Cups

12 cups popped popcorn
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup of butter
1/3 cup of sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup toasted slivered almonds, chopped
1 package (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat
oven to 250◦degrees. Spray 2 (13 x 9- inch) baking pans with non-stick
cooking spray. Divide popcorn between pans. Combine brown sugar, sugar,
butter and corn syrup in a 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high
heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil (7-9
minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, without
stirring, until a small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms
a soft ball (4-6 minutes).

Remove from
heat, stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour caramel mixture over
popcorn, sprinkle with nuts. Sprinkle each pan with ½ cup chocolate
chips. Stir popcorn to coat. Bake for 45 minutes stirring every 15
minutes. Immediately place caramel corn on waxed paper. Sprinkle evenly
with remaining chocolate chips. Cool completely. Break into pieces.
Store in airtight containers.

Savory Holiday Snack Toss
Preparation time: 10 min.  Baking time: 20 min.
Yield: 24 (1/2 cups) servings

5 cups corn, rice or wheat cereal squares
2 cups of oyster crackers
2 cups pretzel sticks,(broken in half)
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 (9.5- ounce) can or 2 cups salted cashew halves
½ cup butter melted
1 (1.2 ounce) package Caesar dry salad dressing mix

Heat
oven to 300 degrees. Combine cereal squares, oyster crackers, pretzels,
cranberries and cashews in large roaster pan. Stir together butter and
salad dressing mix in small bowl. Pour over cereal mixture, toss to
coat. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring twice, until lightly browned.
Cool completely. Store in tightly covered containers.

Praline Nut Crunch
Preparation time: 10 min. Baking time: 10 min. Cooking time: 10 min
Yield: 10 cups
 
4 cups bite-sized square oat cereal
4 cups bite-sized square crispy wheat cereal
1 cup salted small pretzels twists
1 cup of salted mixed nuts
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking soda

Heat
oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick
cooking spray. Combine cereals, pretzels and nuts in prepared pan. Set
aside. Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in 2-quart heavy
saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture
comes to a full boil (4-6 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla
and baking soda. Pour over cereal mixture in prepared pan to coat.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or until coating is
set. Remove from oven. Stir. Spoon cereal mixture onto aluminum foil or
large ungreased baking sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into pieces. Store
in container with tight fitting lid.

Holiday Shredded Wheat Snack Mix
4 cups spoon size Shredded Wheat Cereal
1 cup popped popcorn
1 cup small unsalted pretzels
3 tbsps. butter melted
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. seasoned salt

Preheat
oven to 300 degrees. Mix cereal, popcorn and pretzels in 15x10x1- inch
baking pan. Mix butter, Worcestershire sauce and salt until well
blended. Drizzle evenly over cereal mixture; toss to coat. Bake 30
minutes, stirring after 25 minutes. Cool completely. Store in airtight
container at room temperature.

Honey Mix
6 cups Honeycomb Sweetened Corn and Oat Cereal
1-1/2 cups Jet-Puffed Miniature Marshmallow
1 cup raisins
¼ cup Planters Salted Peanuts
¼ cup candy-coated chocolate pieces

Mix all ingredients. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.