Cinnamony Sweet Cereal Crunch

I’m sitting on my bed right now, looking at the disarray around me. Clothes need to be folded, papers need to be filed, that useless exercise bike over by the window really needs a new home, the Martha Stewart cookie gift boxes I bought should be put away, and the fabric pieces that I use in some of my photos need to be refolded and put back…somewhere. I really ought to make my bed again someday. And dust the furniture and walls and ceiling fan and door frames and blinds and the stupid exercise bike.

Where the heck does dust come from anyway? It gets everywhere. Maybe dust is the fall out from all of those socks that disappear in the washing machine or dryer. I mean, they have to go somewhere, right? What if there is this place into which single socks are transported and they get all ground up and turned into dust, which is then showered all over the house in copious amounts. Lost sock dust. That sounds as plausible as anything else.

My daughter, Katie, doesn’t let disappearing socks bother her. It’s been years since I have seen her wear a matching pair of socks. She simply grabs a couple of socks, puts them on her feet, and she’s good to go for the day. Then, of course, whenever she spends the night here, the self same mismatched socks are removed from her feet at the end of the day and deposited in the family room where they stay until I pick them up, at arms length with a pair of tongs, and deliver them to her room. I stand in the doorway and kind of toss the socks in the general vicinity of the bed. I don’t know what happens to them after that.

I am such a really strange person. Who writes about dust and lost socks as an intro on a food blog?  Are there writing rules for food blogs? Do I care? Apparently not.

Since we are talking about socks, let’s talk about wearing your favorite pair of warm fuzzy socks, curling up with your favorite blankie, and watching your favorite movie while you munch on this Cinnamony Sweet Cereal Crunch. It goes by all sorts of names and is relatively addictive. Remember the rule about making something that is seriously good, yet is not very healthy? Make it, eat a little, and give the rest away. I know you can do it, I just know it.

I have no idea where this recipe originated; I’ve seen it in many different places. It makes a humongous amount of mix, so down-size it if you need a smaller amount. The recipe as it stands is definitely ‘party size’. I added a touch of cinnamon to the recipe; the original does not call for cinnamon, but I like the addition. Other ‘sweet’ spices can be used, too. Nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice might be fun choices.

Now go put on your fuzzy socks and make this treat. Share it with family or friends. Oh, and by the way, if you wear dentures, use some extra poly grip. This has a definite sticky chew factor. 😉

Print Recipe

Cinnamony Sweet Cereal Crunch

This snack mix is chewy, sweet and totally addicting. Some folks even refer to it as "Christmas Crack". It is the ultimate recipe for 'what to do with boxed cereals'.

Servings: 0

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

• 1 (12.8 ounce) box Chex rice cereal
• 1 (12 ounce) box Golden Grahams cereal
• 1 (7 ounce) bag shredded coconut
• 1 (4 ounce) package slivered almonds
• 1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 2 cups corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Lightly butter two large, shallow baking pans. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss together the cereals, coconut, and slivered almonds. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, add the butter, sugar, and corn syrup.
• Cook and stir over medium heat until the syrup reaches the softball stage on a candy thermometer (about 324-degrees F.) If you don’t have a candy thermometer, no problem. Test the syrup periodically by dropping a few drops of the syrup into a small bowl of ice cold water. When the syrup is ready it will hold its shape, but will still be pliable when dropped into the water. Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon. Pour over cereal mixture. Be careful, the syrup is very hot. Stir with a long handled spoon until cereal mixture is well coated with syrup mixture.
• Divide between the two prepared baking pans and allow to cool to room temperature. Pull apart and serve. This is a chewy treat.

Notes

This snack mix is often referred to as "Christmas Crack". There are many recipes for it, but the original source is unknown.

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