Fall treat week continues with these yummy popcorn bars. This recipe is my 4th post as part of Bake for the Cure (be sure to enter the giveaway) and this recipe is my adaptation of one from the Bake for the Cure Cookbook. I always think of popcorn balls as Halloween rolls around. This recipe simplifies the process by pressing the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan and cutting them into bars. By all means if you want popcorn balls you could totally do that with this recipe.
This recipe raises the level of your regular popcorn treat by adding in peanuts and pretzel pieces. The original recipe calls for butterscotch chips along with candy coated chocolate pieces. I wanted to make this recipe with more of a Halloween look so I used milk chocolate chips along with Reese’s Pieces Baking Pieces. The results were yummy. I made the coating on these bars using Karo Lite Corn Syrup. The bottle said it has 33% less calories than regular corn syrup and contains 0 grams high fructose corn syrup.
These bars turn out soft, chewy and ooey gooey. The combination of the milk chocolate coated popcorn along with the Reese’s Pieces, pretzel pieces, and peanuts was delish! The fun thing about this recipe is you could change out the chocolate chips to any flavor you like and adjust the candy pieces to tie it in to any holiday. I think it would be great to use white chocolate chips with red and green M&M’s for Christmas. You could also change out the peanuts to any other nut you like.
Halloween Popcorn Bars
- 9 to 10 cups of popped popcorn
- 1 cup salted peanuts
- 1 cup broken pretzel pieces
- 1 cup Karo Lite Corn Syrup (or regular will do)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 (11.5 oz) package milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup Reese’s Pieces Baking Pieces or regular Reese’s Pieces
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add popcorn, peanuts, and pretzels to the bowl.
- In a medium sauce pan, cook corn syrup and butter over medium heat stirring constantly. Bring to a full boil and boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and mix in the chocolate chips. Stir until all the chips are melted.
- Pour over popcorn, peanuts, and pretzel pieces and mix well. Stir in Reese’s Pieces.
- Press into a greased 9 x 13 inch dish. Cool for 1 hour and cut into bars.
Thank you
Can you email me with any hints about how you made your website look this cool , I would appreciate it.
I would make these if I win the contest because I have to make a treat to bring to my daughter’s Halloween class party.
I definitely want to try this. I love popcorn in general so any recipe with popcorn is one for me to try.
Mmmm! If i make these, I’d have to add some candy corn!
I am really a popcorn ball kind of girl. Not sure how I feel about the bars, even thought they look great.
With the kit, I would make roll-out sugar cookies that my husband and children have been asking for. The let my girls go to town frosting them.
Yum…minus the Reese Pieces…love Reese cups but not the pieces…maybe some M&M’s!
Wow! This looks divine!
These look so good and sticky!
I’m thinking with cashews instead of peanuts, this would be even more decadent….yum!
Okay these look like they’d be dangerous to my waistline.
I’m sure the kiddos would love them though.
Christine
dazed1821@aol.com
I would use baking equipment for everything! This recipe sounds like a good way to break in some new equipment!
OOHH these look so good I will have to make some once my stitiches in my mouth are gone.
Why do I bother to THINK of dieting with all the wonderful baking ideas you have? YUMMMM
I would love to make All the wonderful yummy recipies on this blog if I won the cute baking supplies! Please pick me!!:)
I would love to make some of the peanut butter popcorn balls that were posted, or whatever they are called. I would love to win.
Today white chocolate peppermint cheese cake sounds like it would be the one. YUMMY!!!
Delightful!
might have to try these sometime.
I would make a pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting.
these look great–this would be made
I’m even more convinced that I’d make plenty of sweet wonderful things if I won the contest…most of them from this site!
these look so good. i would love your pink product giveaway. I love baking and as far as what i would make with your products. Well lets just say these popcorn balls would be one of them.
That pictures seriously makes me want to lick the screen!
My kids would love these! And they look like a perfect Halloween/ Fall treat. I’m excited to give them a try. Maybe by using my new pink baking set.
My Grandmother had and recovered from breast cancer, so I would like to bake her a special treat! She gave me a pink breast-cancer-awareness doll last Christmas, so my treat would definitely be PINK in her honor. Since she has been successfully losing weight lately, I would try to keep the treat relatively light and healthy. I think some pink popcorn bars or popcorn balls would be perfect!
I am sitting here with my 4 year old daughter and she is begging me to make this for dinner.
I told her we will definitely make this for dessert.
Another recipe my 3 year old could help me with using the pink kit.
I wanna make this as soon as my kitchen remodel is finished. Thanks!
Looks yummy and some thing my kids would eat
Those look so good! If I won the contest, I think I would make cinnamon rolls!
Yum, those look so good! This gives me the idea to use the Bake for the Cure kit to make caramel popcorn!
I would definitely make this because popcorn balls are one of my favorite treats ever! But for some reason, I am oddly intimidated by making them myself. I’ll have to work on getting over that this weekend!
These look fantastic!
O.K. these bars look so gooey and good. Just right for this time of years. Of course I would love to make these with some fun pink baking equipment. ;P
Those look absolutely delicious and sound just as good.
Those look so yummy!! I’m going going into overload with all these fun fall baking/treats. I hate that I have to hold back so much, but my waistline thanks me. I just need more excuses to make all these things!!
I love this recipe. I just made some popcorn with melted chocolate chips and Reese’s pieces. It was so tasty, but kind of left chocolaty fingers. Makes me want to try this as an alternative.
Still going to say I’d make pumpkin cake with the pink set.
well these look fabulous! “bake for a cure” – very cool!
I feel like I’m cheating on each post when I saw “I would make this recipe” with the baking kit you’re giving away. But you have been posting some real delicious sounding treats!! And the picture you have of these popcorn bars is just mouth watering. But to make me feel like not such a cheater, I’ll also say I’d make some homemade rolls with the kit. I’ve been wanting to make some for a while but when it’s hot outside I don’t turn the oven on but now it’s finally cooling off so I can.
These look so yummy! I would love to try them with new equipment.
yaa bake for the cure! yum yum
This is a really creative recipe! I wouldn’t have thought of it. It’s a fun idea I’ll have to try sometime.
Yum…those look fabulous. My kids will love them.
Yummo! I would try making these babies with my new pink supplies:)
I am going to have to try this one.
Popcorn bars sound easier to make than popcorn balls. These sound so easy to make which is a winner for me.
I forgot to say how I would use the baking equipment in the giveaway. I would probably use the square pan and make granola bars.
I would make these in bars too because I get the gooey stuff all over everything when I try to make balls. Do you use a fork or does it dry up a bit so you could hold the bars? They sure look good. You take some great pictures.
For some reason, I like the idea of popcorn bars better than popcorn balls. Yes, I know it’s the same stuff. But, still.
Anyway, I think I would make mini cheesecakes were I to win the Bake for the cure contest. Nilla wafers, cream cheese filling, cherry pie filling on top!