The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
It may be well over 40 years since Mark went trick or treating in costume, but he can still tell you which neighborhood houses had the best treats. His favorite was over at Jake and Mary Popp’s house. Mary would make homemade popcorn balls. His face lights up every time he thinks about biting into one of those special treats.
Now trick or treating in the country is not quite the same as the city kids walking around to every house in the neighborhood just after dinner. Before we could drive the kids around our neighborhood, we would have to finish milking cows and evening chores. Once Mark made it home, we would pile all the kids in costumes into the van. (This is the one night I appreciated having large doors. Some years the costumes were rather large.) One by one, we would stop at the neighbors. I don’t know who had more fun, our kids or the neighbors. The kids loved to see what they could collect, a can of pop, or handfuls of candy from a very large mixing bowl. The retired neighbors loved see the creativity of the kids’ costumes and watching them try to restrain themselves from taking too many handfuls.
I loved having kids stop by our house on Halloween. When our kids were little we would pass out treats from home. When everyone was helping in the barn, then the delivery system of treats was moved too. A neighbor use to put a large metal mixing bowl full of candy on a straw bale outside the barn door for trick or treaters to help themselves. I adopted Patty’s idea and left a note on the front door of our house instructing our decorated visitors to come to the barn to collect their treats. We wanted to see the imagination come to life in the kid’s costumes.
When I have enough time, I make homemade treats like Mary Popp. Over the years, my favorite treat to make has been caramel apples. We used to ship our milk to Kraft and we could get a 5# bag of caramels. (The bag of caramels was better than any quality award plaque they gave us.) One neighbor loved my caramel apples so much that he would come over on Halloween night to collect, even though his kids were “too old” to go trick or treating. Another treat I adopted for Halloween were homemade bags of caramel corn. Over the years, our neighborhood has outgrown Halloween. We haven’t had anyone stop by for the past couple of years, but I still make some treat bags just in case someone discovers us. If not, Mark and I only have to go to the kitchen to find our Halloween treats! Here are some of our favorite treats. Enjoy!
6 medium apples, washed, dried and stem removed
6 craft sticks
14 oz bag of caramels, unwrapped
2 TBSP milk
Press craft stick in apples and place on buttered baking sheet. Microwave caramels and milk 2 minutes. Stir till smooth. Cool briefly. Roll/dip apples in sauce. Place on sheet to set. You may need to refrigerate for 15 minutes or until caramel firms up.
(with homemade sauce)
1 c. butter
2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. lite corn syrup
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
8 – 10 wooden craft sticks
8 – 10 medium apples washed, dried, stems removed.
Place sticks in apples. Set on generously buttered parchment or waxed paper.
Bring butter, sugar, syrup and milk to boil over medium heat. Cook and stir until candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30 – 40 minutes. For softer caramel 225 degrees. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Dip apples. Place back on buttered paper to cool.
(Amy Thompson, my sister)
1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
¼ c. lite corn syrup
½ tsp baking soda
4 quarts popped corn
Paper bag
Melt butter, sugar and syrup in microwave. Bring to boil. Boil 1 minute. Stir. Boil 1 minute. Stir in soda. (Careful, will bubble!!) Pour in 4 qts popped corn. Stir to coat. Pour mixture into paperbag. Shake. Microwave 1 ½ minutes. Shake. Microwave 1 ½ minutes. Cool on cookie sheet. Put into Ziploc baggies to hand out to trick or treaters.
(Brenda Hackett)
3 quarts popped corn
1 c. sugar
½ c. butter
¼ c. white corn syrup
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla
Bring sugar, butter, syrup and soda to boil over medium heat. Boil until golden brown (about 2 minutes) Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Pour over popcorn. Cool on wax paper. Break apart and store in air tight container or Ziploc baggies.
(Carly Thompson, niece)
Bag of Fritos
1 c. sugar
1 c. lite corn syrup
1 c. peanut butter.
Pour Fritos on buttered pan. Cook sugar and syrup over medium heat until it just starts to bubble. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter. Stir till melted. Pour over Fritos. Top with candy corn, chocolate chips or M&M’s
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As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.
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