Snack foods

When you’re just about to study for midterms or ready to tackle your latest 12-page paper, the last thing you want to worry about is making dinner. Here are some recipes for snacks that are easy to take with you to Schine Student Center’s Panasci Lounge or E.S. Bird Library.

 

Chex Mix

Much more satisfying than the bagged mixes, and you’ll know exactly what’s in it.

6 cups assorted grain cereals (any kind of Chex cereal and Cheerios are good choices)

2 cups stick pretzels

1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons celery salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper

Melt butter in a large pot on very low heat. Add Worcestershire sauce and spices to melted butter. Add cereals, pretzels and peanuts. Cook, covered, for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally. Cook for 20 more minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently to avoid burning.

 

Easy sugar cookies

Great for a sweet treat. For a chocolate chip version, take out the 1/2 cup of white sugar from the recipe and add a 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the mix.

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder, then set aside. Cream butter and sugar until lighter in color and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract and combine. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly, stirring to combine. Form dough into small balls and set on a cookie tray about an inch apart. Bake eight to 10 minutes until slightly golden.

 

Caramel corn

Another sweet snack I had to experiment with a couple of times before getting the thin, crunchy coating I wanted.

3 bags popcorn, popped

1 stick butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread popcorn onto several cookie sheets, so there’s a thin layer on each tray. Melt butter in a medium pot, then melt brown sugar in the pot under medium heat. Add corn syrup. Stir constantly until ingredients boil. Cook, without stirring, for five minutes. Remove pot from heat and add salt, vanilla and baking soda. Pour finished syrup over popcorn, and mix with a spoon to coat evenly. Bake for an hour at 15-minute intervals, stirring between intervals. Cool the popcorn and eat.

 

— Compiled by Sara Tracey, feature editor, smtracey@syr.edu

Published on February 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm