I signed up to take a sweet treat to my son's preschool Halloween party. I originally planned on making mini candy apples using a recipe I found in Family Fun (obviously ignoring the suggestion to use peanut butter chips and chopped nuts). I soon found that caramel doesn't stick easily to cut apples, and I couldn't find a peanut safe caramel dip (a little boy in his class has a peanut allergy). Butterscotch chips were recommended in the recipe, but I couldn't stomach the ingredients in the butterscotch chips. At the last minute, I was scrambling to find something to make that was fun, healthy and safe.
I modified a recipe and made popcorn balls. I mixed popcorn (popped safely in a brown paper bag), organic raisins and the peanut safe candy corn that I found at Dollar Tree, and topped it with melted butter and mini marshmallows. I formed them into sticky, sweet popcorn balls. They were yummy!
We're at the party, and each child is served a Cherrybrook Kitchen cupcake (my first time sampling...they were quite good), my popcorn ball and some pretzels. My son ate it all, but he was one of the few. I heard one child tell his mom "yuck" and to take his popcorn ball off his plate. I saw the majority of them end up in the trash can. In other words, they were totally rejected!
I tried. It was all the right ingredients that preschoolers love. I guess it was combining them that was the problem. I packed up all that was left, and my family has been enjoying them.