Circus Celebration
by Kellie Head of ParentingHumor.com

Everyone loves a circus!  Make your own circus fun foods at home and have a great time clowning around with your kids!

Homemade Cracker Jack

6 qt. Unseasoned popped popcorn
2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Light corn syrup
2 Sticks butter
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar
1 tsp. Baking soda

Preheat over to 200 degrees F. Divide the popcorn between two large bowls. Oil 2 lipped cookie sheets very well and set aside. In a deep saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and cream of tartar. Insert candy thermometer. Bring to a boil and cook the mixture over medium heat for about 5 min, stirring occasionally, until the thermometer registers 260 degreesF (hard ball stage). Remove from the heat and quickly stir in baking soda. The mixture will foams.

Pour the syrup mixture over the popcorn, half into each bowl. Work quickly to coat all the popcorn with the caramel. Spread popcorn evenly on the cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour, stirring 3 times. Remove from oven and spread popcorn on wax paper to cool, breaking up the larger pieces, if necessary. Store in airtight container.

Circus Peanut Salad

6 oz. pkg. Orange Jell-O
3 3/4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup quick tapioca
1/2 pkg. (7 oz.) circus peanuts

Mix ingredients together in a saucepan and cook until crystallized and circus peanuts are melted. Cool until firm.

After cool, fold in:
1 pkg. Dream whip
1 can crushed pineapple

Cream of Peanut Soup

1 medium Onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup Butter
3 tbsp. Flour
2 qt. Chicken broth
2 cup Smooth peanut butter
1 cup heated Half and Half

Saute onion and celery in butter until tender, but not brown. Stir in flour and blend well. Add chicken broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; then simmer 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and rub through a sieve. Discard vegetables. Add last 2 ingredients, stirring to blend thoroughly. Heat through, but do not boil. Garnish with chopped peanuts. Serves 8-10.

Mom's Peanut Brittle

This recipe contributed by The Family Corner.com magazine 

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup shelled raw peanuts
2 tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. baking soda

HINT: Have all the ingredients for this recipe measured out and ready.  This recipe requires that react quickly and you do not have time to be measuring in  between.

Grease large cookie sheet. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, heat to boiling sugar, corn syrup, salt and water, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until temperature reaches 300 degrees F. or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.

Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter or margarine and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet.

With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14" by 12"; cool. With hands, snap candy into small pieces.

Lions and Tigers and Bears Animal Crackers

1/2 cup Oatmeal
2 tsp. Honey
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 cup Flour
1/4 tsp. Soda
1/4 cup softened Butter
4 tbsp. Buttermilk

Grind 1/2 cup oatmeal in blender until fine. Mix into bowl with honey, salt, flour and soda. Cut in butter. Add buttermilk. Roll very thin. Cut into shapes with animal cookie cutters. Bake at 400 degrees f. on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown brown.

Tightrope Taffy

2 cup Sugar
1 cup Corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp. Butter
7 drops food coloring
1/4 tsp. flavored oil (peppermint, banana, etc.)

Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in 2 quart saucepan. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Cook to hard ball stage (260 F) without stirring. Remove from heat, stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into buttered 15x10x1 inch pan. Cool until comfortable to handle. Butter hands and gather taffy into ball and pull. When candy is light in color and gets hard to pull, cut into fourths. Pull each piece into a long strand about 1/2 inch thick. With buttered scissors, quickly snip into bite sized pieces. Wrap each piece in waxed paper. Makes 24 servings (1 1/4 lb.)

Visit ThePartyWorks.com for more circus fun!

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