You can always tell when the Our Best Bites girls are stressed out because we tend to post a lot of sweets. I had excellent intentions of posting a quick and easy dinner today, but I was overcome by the temptation of Pretzel M&Ms, which are simultaneously the most glorious and the most horrific creation in the history of creations. I promise, I’ll post something healthy next week.
It seems like every fall, we start posting cereal and/or popcorn mixes. I’m not sure if it’s because of the hint of Halloween or the return of football and fall TV shows, but cereal mixes just feel right in the fall.
This one is a little different from ones we’ve posted in days gone by because it calls for brown sugar instead of white sugar. Which brings us to caramel. Which, when you combine with salty nuts and Pretzel M&Ms, leads to sad feelings when you step on the scale the next day.
First, line a baking sheet with waxed paper or aluminum foil and lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside.
Then, combine some graham cracker cereal (like Honey Grahams) with some honey roasted peanuts and some salted cashews or macadamia nuts in a very large bowl and set that aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, Karo syrup, and a stick of butter (I told you this was bad) and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Continue boiling, stirring often, for 2 minutes (3 if you’re at a high elevation). When it’s done cooking, add a teaspoon of vanilla and stir to combine. Drizzle the caramel over the cereal mix and quickly stir the mixture to coat everything evenly. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and allow it to cool for a few minutes, just to a point where the candy mixture has cooled but it’s not solid. Add the Pretzel M&Ms and toss gently to combine.
Allow it to cool completely (you can even pop it into the fridge to hurry things along) and then transfer it to a serving bowl or serve individual portions in small cups or cupcake liners.
Unfortunately, we cannot be held liable for the lack of snacky self control that will accompany the presence of this mix in your house. Sorry about that.
Sweet & Salty Caramel Snack Mix
Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Southern Living
6 cups graham cracker cereal (like Honey Grahams)
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup salted cashews or macadamia nuts
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups Pretzel M&Ms (about 1 large bag)
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or wax paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Toss together the cereal and the nuts in a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and Karo syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes (3 if you’re at a high elevation) and then remove from heat. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the cereal/nut mixture and stir quickly to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. When the caramel mixture has cooled but isn’t solid yet (just a few minutes), add the Pretzel M&Ms and toss gently to combine. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Questions & Reviews
Do you bake this at all? I have the southern living recipe it was adapted from and I notice it is baked for 10 minutes before adding the pretzels.
My daughter in college just made this and put it in cute gift bags for some of her guy friends on campus. One young man told her she could make a bucket-full for him the next time, it was so good. Thanks for the recipe!
I just finished making these & I ended up having to double the caramel part of the recipe. After do that my M&Ms seemed to stick better. Did I do something wrong?
We finally tried these today. They were deemed great by my husband and his brother and of couse, me. The only problem was I couldn’t get the m&ms to stick much. I followed the directions. But no matter, they are still yummilicious.
Sinfully good!! I can’t wait to make it again for neighborhood Christmas goodies using the Christmas pretzel shapes and Red and green M&M’s!
I was so excited to make this recipe so I picked up all the ingredients to make it tonight. I followed all of the directions to a “T” but my end product is very sticky and messy. Is that how it is supposed to be? How do you serve ti out of a large bowl? Is there somethign I should have done differently? Thanks for getting back. I’m still excited to serve it this week!
this was so easy and yummy I added the square snap pretzels too…..yummmmm…
ALSO i USED CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH!
Can I just say this is AMAZING! Don’t make a full batch when you are alone or before your kids get home from school. Somehow it ends up eaten before anyone else can enjoy it. Yummy!!
This DOES look good! I was just thinking about Chex Mix and the like earlier so it’s well timed 😀
I’d love to make this. Any ideas on a substitue for m & m’s? My son is allergic to milk. I was thinking of chocolate chips but thought there might be something better out there.
What about Reeses Pieces?
CANDY CORN, IS THERE MILK IN THOSE LITTLE BUGGERS??