It’s almost Halloween, and I’ve got the perfect alternative to buying tons of candy bars for the kiddos – give this Halloween Monster Munch a try instead! This ridiculously easy mixture of cereal, pretzels, marshmallows, peanuts, and M&Ms are coated in creamy white chocolate and topped off with some fun spooky sprinkles. Wrap it up in little bags to hand out during trick or treat, or throw it in a bowl for all to enjoy!

Table of Contents

What’s the

Double Boiler Method?

White chocolate requires some babying to ensure it melts smoothly, doesn’t burn, and cools to the perfect texture. The process of doing this is called tempering and there are two ways to do it – the double boiler method or the microwave method. Having melted (and ruined) plenty of white chocolate in my years in the kitchen, I recommend the double boiler method as the most foolproof way to get smooth, glossy melted white chocolate.

Here’s how to do it:

Fill a pot with a couple of inches of water and bring it to a simmer.
Rest a glass bowl over the pot, ensuring the bottom doesn’t touch the water.
Place 3/4 of your chocolate into the glass bowl and stir until melted.
Remove the bowl from the pot and add the remaining chocolate, stirring to melt it.
Use the chocolate immediately before it hardens.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this Halloween Monster Munch at home:

Cheerios – I thought about giving the pumpkin spice Cheerios a go here for a little bit of fall flair, but ended up sticking with the classic Honey Nut Cheerios.
Chex – Honey Nut, corn, or rice Chex will work in this recipe. I opted for corn since I didn’t want more sweetness from the Honey Nut variety.
Pretzels – The tiny ones are the perfect size here! If you can’t find them, pretzel sticks broken in half would work well too.
Peanuts – I used roasted, salted peanuts to reinforce that salty/sweet combo. If you’re concerned about potentially serving this to kiddos with allergies, just skip them!
M&Ms – This time of year, you can find the special Ghoul’s Blend M&Ms that come in the purple, orange, and lime green colors you see here. It’s perfect for setting that Halloween mood! If you don’t see it at your local grocery store, try the pharmacy.
Mini marshmallows – I love the little gooey, chewy bits of marshmallow in this mix, but they can get a little messy and are the first things to go “stale” in the prepared mix. If you want to extend the shelf life of this mix beyond a week, you may want to skip the marshmallows.
White chocolate – I used good quality white chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or Guittard are great options) rather than white chocolate bars to save time chopping, but the bars are definitely the better quality choice and will yield a better texture when cooled. While it might be tempting to use candy melts instead of white chocolate because they look similar, they’re not the same and we’re using enough here that the flavor difference would be noticeable. Read more about the differences here.

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Halloween Monster Munch

Prep: 30

Total: 30

Servings: 24 servings

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Servings: 24 servings

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups Honey Nut Cheerios, (74 grams)
▢ 2 cups Corn Chex, (62 grams)
▢ 2 cups Itty Bitty Mini Pretzels, (100 grams)
▢ 1 cup Ghoul's Blend M&Ms, (210 grams)
▢ 1 cup mini marshmallows, (55 grams)
▢ 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts, (138 grams)
▢ 3 cups Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips, (530 grams)

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Add all ingredients except white chocolate and coconut oil to a large bowl. Mix gently to combine. Set aside.
Add about 3/4 of the white chocolate to a medium glass bowl (leaving plenty of room to stir). Melt the chocolate using a double boiler method or by microwaving in 30 second increments, stirring after each time in the microwave to melt evenly and prevent burning. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, add the remaining chocolate and stir to melt.
Pour the melted chocolate over the remaining ingredients and stir gently to coat. Add to the prepared baking sheet, spreading the mixture out in an even layer. Quickly add extra M&M's and Halloween sprinkles on top for more color, if desired.
Allow the mixture to cool and harden completely, then break apart into chunks before serving or storing.

Tips & Tricks

This recipe yields about 12 cups (1,167 grams).

Scan the barcode below or search for “Peanut Butter and Fitness Halloween Monster Munch” to log this food in My Fitness Pal.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 48grams, Calories: 239kcal (12%), Carbohydrates: 30g (10%), Protein: 4g (8%), Fat: 11g (17%), Saturated Fat: 7g (44%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 5mg (2%), Sodium: 107mg (5%), Potassium: 162mg (5%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 22g (24%)