It’s so weird to see my name in the title of this recipe post. What’s even more weird, is that both of my names are there! My real name is Byron, but all of my high school friends knew me as Moose. In fact, Moose has followed me for quite some time. I even collect moose-related objects – not obsessively, but I do have a few very nice things that I greatly treasure. Even my John.e calls me Moose from time to time!
Last Christmas, I was out shopping and I found a package of Harry & David’s Moose Munch, and I just had to have it!
Recently, john.e and I were hosting a card night with our good friends, Al and Paulie, and I thought the caramel-coated, chocolate-drizzled popcorn treat would be the perfect card night snack food. And, I knew I could make it fresh at home and better tasting than store-bought kind.
The candy bar was so much fun to do! I wish I had thought of doing this a few years back when my daughter was celebrating her birthdays. She’s quite the little lady now, so a candy bar might be a little “not cool, Dad!” John.e and I went to the Bulk Barn and were both quite surprised at how little we could find that would fit the dietary restrictions for that evening’s get together.
Our friend Paulie is allergic to pineapple and fish. His partner, Al, is allergic to tree nuts and peas. And, well, John.e is a vegetarian so we need to stay away from things like gelatin. I tell you, I was the only normal person at the card table that night! We did manage to find a few treats that were mostly friendly, although, John.e had to stay away from the Spearmint Leaves – those are my favourite, so more for me!
Card night was fantastic! It certainly helps when we are entertaining fantastic guys like Paulie and Al. They are both so down-to-earth and so easy to talk to and laugh with. We truly love them both so much! And, we’re looking forward to our next evening together!
And, because I am such a wonderful host 😉 I purchased Chinese Food take-out containers and small polka-dot storage boxes (the boxes matched the paper napkins!) so that our guests could help themselves to a few boxes of treats to take home once the evening had come to an end.
Byron's Moose Munch
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A wonderfully delicious treat for the whole family. Perfect for an at-home movie night. The best thing about this popcorn recipe is that you can freeze it in Ziploc bags and it stays fresh tasting for up to two months. Just let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes and you're ready to munch!
Author: Pretty Practical Pantry
Ingredients
- 20 cups popped popping corn
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¾ cup salted butter
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups pretzels, broken into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup whole peanuts, salted
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- The process seems a little daunting, but the result is totally worth it! Start by popping the corn. Use an air-popper if you have one. You don't want to add any oil or butter to the popcorn while popping it, so an air popper would work best. An alternative would be to use your microwave. You can buy microwavable plain popcorn in most grocery stores. Once the popcorn is ready, spread it on a baking sheet to cool. Crumble over the broken pretzel pieces and the peanuts.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, on medium heat, bring to a boil the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Swirl the pan to ensure the ingredients are mixing together and that the brown sugar is dissolving. Once the mixture comes to a boil, continue cooking for exactly two minutes. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and sit it into the kitchen sink. Add the baking soda and stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Poor this mixture over the popcorn, pretzels and nuts. Sprinkle with salt, and using metal tongs, toss gently to coat.
- Bake the mixture at 250 degrees for 1 hour.
- Remove the popcorn from the oven every 15 minutes, toss and place it back in the oven.
- Once the hour has passed, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. This will not take too long; about 30 minutes is good.
- Once cooled, melt the chocolate chips using a double boiler and place the melted chocolate into a sturdy Ziploc bag.
- Using scissors, cut a small hole in the bottom of one end of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn. You will not toss the popcorn again, so don't be afraid to use all of the chocolate and get into the nooks and crannies to get a good amount of chocolate in each bite.
- Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Remove from the refrigerator and break into manageable pieces.
- Serve immediately.
candy bars are still cool for 12 year olds, at least here they are;) they went over well for Brooke’s party last weekend
Looks soooo yummy. Popcorn and chocolate are basically my two favorite foods.
Popcorn is definitely one of my favourites. I can do without the chocolate. 🙂
So cute! I love Moose Munch bars so I can’t wait to try these out myself too!
I am loving this candy bar, Moose 🙂 Just visitting from FBC
What a fantastic idea!! And that moose munch looks sooooo good!
Ok, stop it with how cute all this is!! I love the moose munch and all the decor and how you presented it. Adorable!!
Hahaha! The. Best. Comment. Ever. 🙂
Candy bar is a lovely idea! And if I am invited to a party where there’s a candy bar, I’d definitely become s happy fat kid! ??
Oh and I really thought this treat was named after yours and you’ve created it yourself ?
I really love the combination of popcorn, chocolate and peanuts and I make caramel popcorn at home quite often ? Will share my method with you also.
Thank you, my dear! It was fun to make. Looking forward to seeing your version of caramel corn!
ultimate party treat!! Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, now that is a candy bar if I’ve ever seen one!! Everything is so bright and colorful, so fun!
Thank you! I was quite proud of how it turned out.
I think you need to open a candy bar establishment, Byron 🙂 That turned out awesome! Especially that moose munch ♥
Oh, thank you so much, but I think my candy bar days are over. My very first job – way back when I was 15 years old – was in a candy store. I was on a sugar high every day. 🙂
I just love popcorn and the bigger the chunks the better..this certainly fits the bill!
Isn’t popcorn just one of those things that you can’t possibly shovel into your mouth fast enough? Why is that? There’s certainly no etiquette when eating popcorn. Hey, maybe that’s why theatres are so dark – to hide the animalistic behaviour. LOL
Oh dear! I already know how it would go down with me if I was around. I’d eat so much of everything that after 1 hour my stomach would ache. but that wouldn’t hold me off of eating more every now and then 😉
You should come for cards night! 🙂
Byron, what absolutely delightful candy bars! Perfect for birthdays of all kinds, including kitty birthdays… except kitties can’t have some of the ingredients. But that’s okay I’ll finish it for them 😀
Haha! Moose Munch! What a creative name. It made me laugh and I really like your recipe for it. I am always looking for good snacks to munch on, so, this is so perfect. Great recipe, Byron.