Chex Caramel Corn

By Foodiewife

A co-worker of mine made this treat and I fell in-love with it. It's a crunchy sweet and buttery snack mix that is really addicting. The caramel coating is easily made either in a microwave or stovetop (which is the method I used. You can play around with the ingredients to include more or less of whatever you like. I increased the peanuts, and popcorn. If stored in an airtight container, this keeps for up to a week-- if it lasts that long! Makes a great Halloween or Christmas gift, too. This recipe is adapted from Chex.com and Betty Crocker.com

Ingredients

• 7 cups Chex cereal (corn, rice or combination)
• 2 cups Cheerios cereal
• 6 cups Popped corn*
• 3 cups Chinese crispy noodles
• 1 to 2 cups peanuts, cocktail style
• 1 cup butter (don't use margarine or tub spread products)
• 6 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 1/8 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels = about 6 cups popped corn

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 250°F.

Remove and discard unpopped kernels from popped popcorn.

Mix cereals, popcorn, Chinese noodles and peanuts in a large roasting pan; set aside.

Heat butter, sugar, corn syrup and to boiling in a 2-Quart saucepan* over medium heat, stirring frequently.
*or you can heat in a microwave, if you prefer.

Add the vanilla (I prefer to add this once the caramel is hot, to keep the vanilla flavor more intense.)

Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.

Bake 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spread on waxed or parchment paper to cool, stirring occasionally to break up.

Store in an airtight container.

Tasting notes: I would think that substituting pecans or even cashews for peanuts would be really good, too!