Pumpkin Pie Snack Mix

I don’t know what it is about the fall, it must be something in the way the leaves fall from the trees, but it makes me want to bake. All day long if I could. I just love creating a new recipe, or even a tried-and-true and much loved recipe, for my family. Standing next to a hot oven, absorbing the heat, smelling the cinnamon, butter or chocolate scent filling the house.

My house almost always smells like freshly baked cookies or muffins. I kid you not.

Somedays there just isn’t enough time to make baked goods. Let’s face it, it’s not usually a quick activity. Especially if you have little hands “helping” you. When you add in clean up time, well, there goes the entire morning.

So, when I need a quick activity to fill up a rainy, windy, cold afternoon, I grab some cereal, pretzels and ramen noodles (yes, ramen noodles) and the kiddo and I set to work. We measure. We pour. We stir. We mix. And then we taste. That’s the best part of all, creating something that you can eat.

Snack mixes are so easy and require little to no baking skill. If you can operate a microwave and measure a few ingredients, you can master this. That’s why it’s such a good activity for kids, if they mess up a little, no one will know. It’s your little secret.

The other thing that I love about fall, and Halloween, is that pumpkin is everywhere. Real pumpkins lining the houses on the streets. Canned pumpkin lining the shelves in the grocery stores. It’s everywhere you look. So why not celebrate Halloween and all things pumpkin with a pumpkin pie snack mix? With a touch of brown sugar and a good helping of pumpkin pie spice, it’s a great snack for filling up those bellies before trick or treating.

Pumpkin Pie Snack Mix

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
• 2 cups pretzels
• 2 cups Ramen noodles, broken
• 1-2 cups candy corn

In a large, microwave-safe bowl combine the cereal, pretzels and ramen noodles. Mix together.

In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In a small, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, or until melted. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture, stir until evenly distributed. Add the sugar mixture and stir until coated.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring well every minute (or the mixture will burn). Spread on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to cool.

Stir in the candy corn. Store in an air tight container for up to two weeks.