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Caramel Crispix Mix in the Microwave

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Crunchy caramel-y goodness made quickly with the help of the microwave.  This cereal mix is perfectly delicious for snacking. It is sweet, salty and quick and easy to make too!

bowl of caramel cereal snack mix with peanuts.

If you are a fan of crunchy sweet and salty snack mixes, you are in the right place! The crisp caramel coating on this cereal and peanut mix is absolutely perfect.

The best part is you can finish it in the microwave, making it so much faster than the baked version.  I am sharing two different ways to get to the finished product fast, so do whichever sounds easier to you! You will be in snacking heaven before you know it.

My Aunt Jenny is famous!  She submitted this recipe to Gooseberry Patch and had it published in Homestyle in a Hurry. Isn’t that fun?

If you liked Grandma Schanhorst’s Microwave Caramel Corn, you will love this!  It is the same principle of making a caramel and using the microwave to dry it out.

It is so much quicker than using the oven.

We threw together an impromptu BBQ this weekend.  It was just too nice not to cook something over fire.

Now, when I say cook something over fire, I really mean it.  My husband cooks over a wood fire.

He starts with logs and paper and kindling and the whole bit.  So, it takes a while before we are ready to cook.

He has to make the kindling, build a pretty little fire (sometimes he gets pretty artistic with his wood placement), start the fire, feed the fire, burn the fire down a bit to get a nice bed of coal.   Finally, a few hours later we are ready for the food.

Needless to say, the process can make us all hungry!  It just so happened I had bought the cereal to make this.

 So, I ran inside and made a little snack for everyone while we waited for the fire master to do his thing.

Everyone LOVED it.  Maybe too much.

We all stood around saying how wonderful it was while feeding our faces.  Then when dinner was ready, we weren’t quite as hungry as maybe we should have been.

You live and you learn!  Next time we’ll make a smaller dinner. 😉

Glass Bowl Method

This is the way my Aunt Jenny makes it.  It is super simple and works great.

Make sure you have a large glass bowl ready for this.  My 4 qt glass bowl is just barely big enough for to make a full batch.

bowl of crispy caramel and peanut snack mix

You are going to want to use glass because it is microwave safe and you don’t want that super hot sugar burning into anything else!

Have you wax paper ready when it comes out so you can spread it out while it’s hot.  That way you don’t have one big clump of caramel goodness.

Paper Bag Method:

Shaking a paper bag is such a great way to get everything coated and crunchy.  After trying several different recipes with this method, I thought it was time to try this one.  It worked really well!

This gets the caramel really evenly distributed and crunchy.  Plus some of the extra grease seeps into the bag, so it feels healthier!

I made a video so you can see just how easy it is!

More Recipes to Try: 

Jenny also shared her Feta and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts with us and they instantly became a favorite dinner here.  We highly recommend them!

Snack mixes are always so much fun to make and eat.  They are perfect for parties.  This is a favorite and so is the Brownie Batter Puppy Chow.

For another fun caramel snack mix, check out caramel muddy buddies.  It’s a puppy chow snack but with caramel instead of chocolate. 

Or whip up some squirrel chow, which is another fun play on puppy chow.  It it a fun mix that is always a hit. 

Now I am curious, do you have a favorite snack mix?

bowl of caramel cereal snack mix with peanuts.

Quicker Easier Caramel Crispix Mix

Carlee
Crunchy caramel-y goodness.  This cereal mix is perfectly delicious for snacking. It is sweet, salty and quick and easy to make too!
5 from 12 ratings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 18 Servings
Calories 372 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 12 oz Crispix cereal or similar
  • 16 oz dry roasted peanuts
  • ¾ cup butter
  • cup light brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions
 

Glass Bowl Method

  • Combine cereal and peanuts in a large microwave-safe glass bowl, set aside
    12 oz Crispix cereal, 16 oz dry roasted peanuts
  • In a large (it will bubble up!) sauce pan over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. Boil for two minutes
    ¾ cup butter, 1½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup
  • Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the baking soda. Pour caramel mix over cereal and peanuts, stirring to coat
    1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove and stir. Repeat two more times.
  • Pour onto lightly greased baking sheets or strips of waxed paper
  • Cool completely then break into pieces and serve. Store in an air-tight container

Paper Bag Method

  • Make sure there are no staple in your paper grocery sack!
  • Combine cereal and peanuts in your paper bag, set aside.
    12 oz Crispix cereal, 16 oz dry roasted peanuts
  • In a large (it will bubble up!) sauce pan over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. Boil for two minutes
    ¾ cup butter, 1½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup
  • Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the baking soda. Pour caramel mix over cereal and peanuts, roll the top of the bag down and shake to coat
    1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Remove from the microwave and shake well to mix.  Repeat this process until it has been cooked and shaken 5 times.
  • Pour onto lightly greased baking sheets or strips of waxed paper
  • Cool completely then break into pieces and serve. Store in an air-tight container

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 372kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 7gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 267mgFiber: 2gSugar: 26g
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Recipe Rating




Cindy

Monday 27th of November 2023

Gah! I wish you lived with me to cook snacks. I want ALL the snack mixes. Maybe one with chocolate? And the baked oatmeal! So innovative! I'm subscribing!

Carlee

Tuesday 28th of November 2023

Ha! I need more snack eaters, so that would be convenient! Thank you.

Amy

Monday 29th of June 2020

This sounds delicious and I am always up for something simple! The Gooseberry Patch cookbook looks like fun. That is pretty awesome that this is in there.

Carlee

Thursday 2nd of July 2020

isn't it fun all the way around?!

Andrea Nine

Friday 26th of June 2020

I just love the ideas to get the finished product faster. Yummo. Happy Weekend dear friend!

Carlee

Thursday 2nd of July 2020

It is so quick and easy this way!

Frugal Hausfrau

Wednesday 20th of January 2016

I haven't heard of this, but it sounds amazing! I love that you said you'd make less dinner rather than less of this! :)

Mollie

Carlee

Wednesday 20th of January 2016

Well you have to have your priorities straight ;-) Thank you so much!

Unknown

Tuesday 19th of January 2016

Oh this would not last long around me or my house. Might be making this soon but that would blow my diet. :))) I like cooking over fire when we go camping. Love the flavor adds to the meal. Probably not good for us though. Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you bring this week!

Carlee

Tuesday 19th of January 2016

It does add a great flavor to whatever you are grilling... and it has be still be better than frying, right?