Candy Coated Crispix Mix
Sweet and salty with plenty of crunch, this Candy Coated Crispix Mix is the most munchable, absolutely addicting snack mix to make this holiday season! It's hard to resist grabbing a handful of the caramel covered clusters of cereal, peanuts, and M&M's every time you walk by the kitchen! Perfect for sharing with friends and neighbors!
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 800kcal
Ingredients
- 17 ounces Crispix cereal
- 2 cups salted dry roasted peanuts
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup salted butter
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pound milk chocolate M&M's a little more than 2 cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray. Combine the Crispix cereal and peanuts in a very large bowl and set aside.
- Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes.
- Add the baking soda and stir well. The mixture will foam up a bit. Immediately pour over the cereal and peanuts, stirring to evenly coat the cereal with the candy mixture. It's okay if not every piece gets coated. This step is to distribute the candy coating as evenly as possible, but you don't want to crush the cereal by stirring too much or too vigorously.
- Dump the coated cereal mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, using a spatula or large wooden spoon to turn the snack mix over every 15 minutes or so. The low heat keeps the candy coating soft and sticky and turning helps most of the cereal eventually get evenly coated, while also drying it out a bit.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 15 to 20 minutes until cool enough to add the M&M's without them melting. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about 1 week.
Notes
- You can use whichever M&M's you like best, whether that is milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or the pretzel ones. I personally like the milk chocolate best, so that's what I stick with.
- Add some sweetened coconut flakes. I'm definitely doing this with the next batch I make. I think maybe 1 to 1 ½ cups should do the trick.
- Drizzle with melted white or dark chocolate after cooling completely, then let it set until the chocolate rehardens.
- Add another type of nuts like pecans or cashews.
- Swap out some of the Crispix cereal for pretzel twists.
- Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the butter/sugar mixture while it is cooking for a warm and cozy spiced version.
Nutrition
Calories: 800kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 843mg | Potassium: 296mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 76g | Vitamin A: 1853IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 224mg | Iron: 13mg