Name: Halloween Candy Corn White Trash
Prep time: 10 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 6 cups mini pretzel twists; 2 1/2 cups candy corn; 2 cups salted cocktail peanuts; 12 oz Wilton bright white candy melts or white chocolate chips; 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening (Crisco)

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5 from 4 votes

Kids these days

I think as we get older, we tend to have a “doom and gloom” attitude about the generations younger than us. Right? They’ll never know the struggles we had! Rotary phones, no internet, cassette tapes! Ha! I often get folks from my generation and the baby boomer generation who will comment that today’s generation are lacking basic cooking skills. But, as someone who is immersed in the “food world” every day, nearly all day, I find that not to be a valid assessment. In fact, I think as a whole, many of them are way better cooks than I ever could be. My generation, Generation X, are the children of Baby Boomers. We were “latch key kids” and most of us were so focused on music, video games and television and both of our parents worked so we ate a lot of microwaved food. Many of us didn’t even care or want to learn how to cook. We had more important things to do! I had to beat my brother to the next level of Zelda.

These kids can cook!

And yet, here we are. Most of us are thriving and we have families of our own and even grandchildren of our own. We managed to figure out how to cook and feed our kids and ourselves. Heck, I make a living off of technology now. Who knew that would even be possible?! Food Network and Youtube and blogs taught us a lot. Today’s generation is a generation of foodies. They love to cook and eat. Now, I know this is a generalization and we all know people who don’t fit into this mold. However, I get thousands of comments and tons of emails each week and I can say, with some assurance, that the stereotypes of the “younger generation” are just not true. They have technology and they are using it in really positive ways. No one is forcing them to learn, they are teaching themselves! How inspiring is that?! We could all learn from them. It’s so important, no matter how old we are, that we never stop learning. There is always knowledge out there to be had.

Technology can be awesome

We are so quick (myself included) to see technology and electronics as this horrible thing that has happened to kids and young adults. My parents thought the same thing about television and video games. Yet my generation, as a whole, is really successful and we aren’t zombies at all. I am trying to see a different way to approach technology and I think it can be amazing when used properly and respected. Parents and grandparents shouldn’t be afraid of it because they don’t understand it. Rather, we should teach ourselves all about it and get familiar with it. Then we can teach our kids and grandkids how to use it and then monitor that usage – regularly. This is the world they are growing up in. We can either bury our heads in the sand and hide it from them until adulthood (where they won’t know how to navigate it), or we can teach them the good and the bad and help them make the right decisions so they grow up and use it in a healthy and supportive way. And to show them how to find yummy recipes like this one! 🙂

White trash – um, what?

I know. We’re gonna take a derogatory term and turn it on its head. We’ve always called these sort of “dump and stir” treats white trash or just “trash” if we used other flavor chocolates. “Trash” was just the term given to this since you could use whatever ingredients you wanted and then plop it into a bowl, add melted chocolate and boom – you had a fast and easy treat. I’ve made this with Bugles, Fritos, potato chips, M&M’s – you name it. It’s easily customizable to your tastes! Now, let’s dig in!

Ingredients:
6 cups mini pretzel twists
2 1/2 cups candy corn
2 cups salted cocktail peanuts
12 oz Wilton bright white candy melts or white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening (Crisco)
Directions:

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add the pretzels, candy corn and cocktail peanuts. Stir to mix well.

In a medium microwave safe bowl, add the shortening and microwave for 30 seconds. Add the white candy melts and stir to mix. Microwave on HIGH in 30 second increments (stirring after each interval) until the white chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the candy corn mixture.

Gently stir to coat evenly.

Transfer the coated candy corn mixture to the lined cookie sheet and spread out with a spatula.

Chill for about 45 minutes to allow the chocolate to completely harden. Before serving, break apart into bite size pieces.

Cook’s Notes: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Enjoy!Frankenstein Donuts

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