If you follow my site, you know I posted all about Freshly Popped Homemade Popcorn the other day. And you know I posted my Chocolate Dipped Halloween Spiders recently, too. So it’s probably not a leap to imagine I might post another Halloween Treat, and maybe even one made with popcorn, like these Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars.
Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars are super easy, no-cook bars that are fast, delish and so easily customized. You get to add whatever treats you want inside them. And while these are filled with all of my favorite fall-ish Halloween things, this is a recipe that’s super easy to vary with the seasons, especially with all the fun holiday colored candies that are always coming out.
About Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars:
My Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars have popcorn, of course. And Marshmallow, to hold them together. And then I added Snickers, Pretzels, Peanuts and m&m’s. I did have a bit of an issue – I couldn’t find any Halloween m&m’s. I was sure they have them or at least I thought there was such a thing. Since I wanted only autumn colors in my bars, I took one for the team. I just ate all the blue ones, lol! And maybe a few of the red ones. And maybe a few of the packages, regardless of color! But some DID make it into the bars, as you can see! When the bars were all done, I couldn’t resist a few Halloween sprinkles over the top.
I like treats like these Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars better than something like popcorn balls. They’re a bit softer and maybe just a little gooey and the flavor, I think, is so much better than popcorn balls. Bonus, too, that Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars are easier to make and there’s no skill or thermometer needed. They are a little hard to cut, and it’s a bit of a challenge to get a perfect square, as you can see. I don’t mind a little rustic, though!
Of course, you aren’t limited to just Halloween, even with these autumn colors and flavors. These bars will be great for any fall party or outing, bake sales or just kicking back and cooking something up with your kids or grandkids. Ya gotta love that! They’re so delish and so low effort you might be making them more often than you’d think.
Making Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars:
Recipes like these Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars follow a pretty standard formula. It’s usually 8 cups (2 quarts) of popcorn to one standard package of mini-marshmallows and anywhere from a quarter to a third of a cup of butter. So what’s a standard package of mini-marshmallows? Generally, it’s 10 to 10 1/2 ounces. Now, some people swear by the mini-marshmallows, saying the melt better, but any marshmallow will work and I think the standard or even the large sizes make the bars a little gooier. They have less of the cornstarch coating in ratio to the marshmallow.
The recipe isn’t so particular, though, that the melty marshmallow will have any problem stretching to cover and incorporate a good amount of “add-ins” into the bars. Go anywhere from about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of your favorite things. Candy, chopped up, chocolate chunks, caramel bits, heath bits, nuts of choice, dried fruits, cut up cookies, pretzels or pretty much whatever strikes your fancy. If you really want to get fancy, drizzle the bars with some chocolate. Just sayin’!
The Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars are simple to make, just a bit sticky. It helps to use a non-stick pan to melt the marshmallows in, spray the pan you’ll press them into with cooking spray along with the bowl and spatula you’ll use to mix, too. And do use a generously sized bowl! As far as the pan, you can use just about any size and make these as high or as flat as you’d like. I went with an 8 x 8″.
Saving Money on Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars:
Recipes like this are a great way to use any half-empty bags of marshmallow you might have hanging out in the cupboard, even if they’re a little melty and squished together or maybe even a little hard. And that’s where having a little kitchen scale comes in handy. When it comes to frugal cooking and breaking down larger items into packages to fit the size of your family, or for baking, a scale is indispensable! These days, they’re so reasonably priced.
Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars are also a great way to use a bit of this or that as far as add-ins that you have in your pantry. Or maybe you want to use up the candy you have leftover from Halloween. It seems it’s getting harder to judge how many trick or treaters you might get. Sometimes I have a ton, other years only a few! And while people in your office might not be thrilled if you bring in your leftover candy, they’ll have a hard time resisting these bars.
These are such reasonable bars to make, cost wise, but they’re really the cheapest with my Freshly Popped Homemade Popcorn. Make up a batch for family movie night, and while you’re at it, make a second batch and squirrel it away for these bars and you’ll be doing double duty.
Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars
- 8 cups of popped popcorn (2 quarts) this is 1/4 cup unpopped
- 1/4 cup butter
- 10 to 10 1/2 (1 small package of mini marshmallows) marshmallows
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of “add-ins” (see post for ideas)
Add the “add-ins” and popcorn to a large bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spray an 8 x 8″ or other reasonably sized pan. Spray spatula.
In a non-stick pan, melt butter, then add marshmallows, stirring nearly continuously with the sprayed spatula as they melt. Pour over the popcorn mixture and quickly mix. Turn out into a prepared pan and gently press. Allow to cool and cut into bars.
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I’ll be sharing Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Bars at Fiesta Friday #247, hosted this week by Antonia @ Zoale.com and Laurena @ Life Diet Health. There’s lots of fun fall dishes & Halloween Party food already linked up there! Stop by and check it out.
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