Critters in the Hay

Description
Makes 4 quarts

Ingredients

 * 1½ cup sugar
 * 1 cup light corn syrup
 * 2 tbsp butter
 * 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
 * 1 tsp vanilla
 * ½ tsp salt
 * ½ tsp green food color (optional)
 * 3½ quarts popped popcorn, remove any unpopped kernels
 * 1 cup candy corn
 * licorice ropes, black wooden picks, small black gum drops or other small black candies
 * red decorating icing
 * tiny red jaw-breakers candy
 * worm-shaped candies

Directions

 * 1) In Dutch oven, bring sugar, corn syrup and butter to a boil; boil 2½ minutes.
 * 2) Stir in pumpkin pie spice,vanilla, salt and food coloring(if desired) mix until evenly colored.
 * 3) Add popcorn and toss until evenly coated.
 * 4) Spread popcorn mixture in a single layer on greased sheets of foil and allow to cool and harden.
 * 5) Break into bite-size pieces and mix with candy corn in a wide shallow bowl; set aside.
 * 6) To make spiders, cut licorice into 2 inch lengths.
 * 7) To make legs, starting at one end, make three ½ inch to ¾ inch cuts to make four legs.
 * 8) Repeat cuts at opposite end.
 * 9) Leave about ½ inch in center uncut.
 * 10) Gently pull legs apart and curl down.
 * 11) Push wooden pick through center of body, leaving about ¼ inch exposed on top.
 * 12) Push one gumdrop onto exposed pick to make a body.
 * 13) Using writing tip of decorating icing, squeeze two small dots of icing into gumdrops.
 * 14) Press jaw-breakers into icing to make eyes.
 * 15) Place"spiders" and worm-shaped candies in popcorn.
 * 16) Remove wooden picks before eating.