No-Bake Cereal Peanut Chews

Melt the following in a heavy cooking pot on low heat until sugar is melted maybe 3-4 minutes. Watch and stir the mixture carefully the peanut butter can burn easily.

This recipe is for 1 batch. I made 2 batches separately and made a crunchy batch and a smooth batch. I took these to a family get together everyone liked both recipes.

Coating mixture:

*1/3 cup Sugar
*1/2 cup Corn Syrup
*1 cup **chunky or ***smooth/creamy Peanut Butter

After the mixture is melted, add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon Vanilla.

Dry Mixture:

*1 1/2 cups Corn Flakes Cereal, crushed
*1 1/2 Cups Special K Cereal, crushed

**Add an extra 1/2 cup Crushed Cereal if you like it crunchier. The No-Bake Cereal Chew round balls on a stick have chunky Peanut butter and the extra cereal.

***The square bar bites are gooey, using the smooth/creamy peanut butter for the No-Bake Cereal Peanut Chews. No extra cereal.

Combine the coating mixture to the cereal and mix together and place in a parchment lined 7″ x 11″ or 8″ x 8″ baking dish spraying parchment paper with a small amount of cooking spray. Add the cereal mixture and top with Chocolate or see below for the crunchy recipe for dipping in the chocolate and nuts.

Chocolate Topping/Dip:

*6 ounces Milk Chocolate Chips, melted, if you use darker chocolate chips you might need to add 1/2 tablespoon Shortening for easier cutting or cut before the chocolate hardens all the way. (I melted chocolate chips in the microwave for two 30 second intervals, stirring after each 30 seconds until melted and then 20 seconds if additional time is needed. Every microwave is different so adapt as needed.)

Optional: Chopped nuts, seasonal candy sprinkles…..,

Dip or spread the melted chocolate over the cooled cereal mixture.

*Hint: If you add to much cereal they will crumble apart.

Both the creamy and crunchy recipes were yummy!

**Chunky/Crunchy No-Bake Cereal Peanut Chews (Stick Balls)

Make the above crunchy recipe, form them into desired size balls as soon as you can handle warm mixture in your hand.

Hint: Add small amount melted chocolate to the sticks before dipping in Cereal formed balls to secure ball from falling off stick and let harden. (I inserted the sticks into the cereal balls first, then dipped them in the melted chocolate, chopped peanuts/sprinkles. Then placing dipped cereal balls on a piece of wax paper. I then pulled out the sticks and dipping them into melted chocolate, re inserted it back into the dipped cereal ball and let chocolate harden.) I used Sandwich Sticks.

You can refrigerate to harden chocolate, and then serve.

Recipe adapted from food