Title: Critters in the Hay
Categories: Snack Kids Holiday
Yield: 4 Quarts
| FROM JONI'S KITCHEN |
| 1 1/2 | c | Sugar |
| 1 | c | Light corn syrup |
| 2 | tb | Butter |
| 1 1/2 | ts | Pumpkin pie spice |
| 1 | ts | Vanilla |
| 1/2 | ts | Salt |
| 1/2 | ts | Green food color(optional) |
| 3 1/2 | qt | Popped popcorn; remove any unpopped kernals |
| 1 | c | Candy corn Licorice ropes;black wooden picks small black gum |
In Dutch oven, bring sugar,corn syrup and butter to a boil; boil 2 1/2
minutes. Stir in pumpkin pie spice,vanilla,salt and food coloring(if
desired) mix until evenly colored. Add popcorn and toss until evenly
coated. Spread popcorn mixture in a single layer on greased sheets of foil
and allow to cool and harden. Break into bite-size pieces and mix with
candy corn in a wide shallow bowl; set aside. To make spiders, cut licorice
into 2 inch lengths. To make legs, starting at one end, make three 1/2 inch
to 3/4 inch cuts to make four legs. Repeat cuts at opposite end. Leave
about 1/2 inch in center uncut. Gently pull legs apart and curl down. Push
wooden pick through center of body, leaving about 1/4 inch exposed on top.
Push one gumdrop onto exposed pick to make a body. Using writing tip of
decorating icing, squeeze two small dots of icing into gumbrops. Press
jaw-breakers into icing to make eyes. Place"spiders" and worm-shaped
candies in popcorn. Remove wooden picks before eating. Makes 4 quarts.