Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Tasty Tuesday: Better Than Sex Chex Mix

I rarely post dessert recipes.

It's not that I don't love dessert.  Trust me, I do.  (Maybe a little too much sometimes!)  I'm just not confident when it comes to my baking abilities.

One of my secret-not-so-secret dreams is to be a contestant on MasterChef.  (If you've never seen it, you're missing out.)  I know I'm not good enough to even consider auditioning for any future seasons right now, but I'm definitely working on my cooking skills.  I'm hoping that eventually I'll get to the stage that most "true" food bloggers are at (I'm definitely not even close to being there yet!) and have the ability to whip up something that looks and tastes spectacular without any real recipe to follow.  I'd love to be so awesome in the kitchen that I could make the most random ingredients suddenly go together perfectly (and of course have amazing photography skills as well so I can take gorgeous pictures to share on my blog).

But I'm working on my cooking skills.  Not baking.

When it comes to baking (or making desserts in general), I usually just feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.  I think the main issue for me is the fact that I have to actually measure shit.  When I'm cooking, I can generally just eyeball most of the spices and ingredients and come up with something great.  If I try that with a dessert ... Well ... Let's just say I've had a few bad experiences.

The dessert I'm going to share with you today is simple, though.  (And as a bonus, it doesn't involve baking!)  I mean, if I could successfully make this, anyone could.

And you really should make this.


Better Than Sex Chex Mix

Adapted ever so slightly from a recipe on Tablespoon.

Chex Mix
I don't know if I'd agree that this is actually better than sex, but it's pretty damn delicious.




Ingredient List:
  • 8 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 6 tbsp butter or margarine (I typically use low fat margarine in most of my recipes, but I went all out with this one and used real unsalted butter)
  • 3 tbsp light corn syrup
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
  • 1 cup miniature marshmallows
  • 1/2 cup caramel bits (These can be found with the chocolate chips in the baking aisle)
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream or milk (I forgot to buy heavy cream before making this, so I used the 1% milk we had on hand and it worked just fine)
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:

1.  Add the 8 cups of Chocolate Chex cereal to a large microwave safe bowl and set aside.

2.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

3.  In a 2 cup microwave safe measuring cup, microwave the brown sugar, butter, and light corn syrup uncovered on High for 1-2 minutes.  After 1 minute, stir the butter/brown sugar mixture.  Microwave for an additional minute if the mixture is not completely melted and smooth.

4.  Stir the baking soda into the butter/brown sugar mixture until dissolved.

5.  Pour the mixture over the cereal, stirring until evenly coated.  (The butter/brown sugar mixture should be similar to caramel at this point.)

6.  Microwave the cereal on High for 3 minutes, stirring after every minute.

7.  Spread the cereal on the lined cookie sheet and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.  Once the cereal has cooled, break it into bite-sized pieces.  (Make sure the cereal is cool to the touch before moving on to any additional steps in order to avoid melting the candy.)

8.  Evenly sprinkle the peanut butter cups and marshmallows over the cereal.

9.  In a small microwave safe bowl, microwave the caramel bits and heavy cream or milk together uncovered on High for about 1 minute (or until the chips are completely smooth and blended with the cream or milk).  Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the caramel sauce over the Chex mixture.

10.  In another small microwave safe bowl, microwave the milk chocolate chips uncovered on High in 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval.  (Because microwaves can vary, please make sure you keep a close eye on the chocolate to ensure it becomes creamy and doesn't harden or get caked in the bowl.)  Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the chocolate sauce over the Chex mixture.

11.  In a third small microwave safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate chips uncovered on High in 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval.  (Again, please make sure you watch the chocolate!)  Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the white chocolate sauce over the Chex mixture.

12.  Refrigerate the Chex mixture until all drizzles are set.  Break it into small chunks and store in a tightly covered container.

I made a batch of this to take to work, and it got rave reviews.  If you're looking for something to feed a crowd at a party or work gathering, this is perfect!

1 comment:

  1. […] mentioned at least a couple of times that I’m not much of a baker.  Since one of my personal goals is to start baking […]

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