Hey Everyone! Have a I got a golden oldie recipe for you today! This is a family favorite! Actually, it is a multiple family favorite. The recipe comes from my husband’s maternal Grandma, Birdie. Yep, her real name was Birdie – cute, huh? My husband and his brother remember Birdie making these as snacks for them when they would visit her house after school or in the evenings to play games with Grandpa Bert. The candies have always been a favorite of that family and now are a favorite with my sons, especially Alex. He has actually taken over the making of these delicious little morsels, for the most part, in my immediate family. Alex has taken them to gatherings with his Greene County friends and they have become favorites of some of those guys. I have shared the recipe with some of their moms too. The recipe is so easy and although we have always called them candies, I could see calling them no-bake cookies as well. There is very little cooking involved. You can easily make these in about 15 minutes, including the time it takes to gather the ingredients and measure everything. There are 5 ingredients in total, most of which you probably already have in your pantry. I don’t normally have plain Special K, so I can never make these on the spur of the moment which is probably a good thing. These are really, really good and very addictive. Once you eat one it is hard to stop. If you are like me, you try to justify it by thinking of all the vitamins and good stuff in the cereal and the protein in the peanut butter. But, hey, just enjoy them. No judgement here.
This is an old recipe. This is witnessed by the listing of ingredients on our copy. It calls for Oleo rather than butter. Alex and I always have a chuckle over that. Oleo is an old-timey term for margarine. Back in the day, lots and lots of recipes called for margarine rather than butter. We use butter for these candies. I don’t use much margarine at all and I don’t really know if the end result would be all that different, but we love them with butter, so I am sticking with it. I mean, c’mon, butter makes nearly everything better. We also triple the original recipe, so I am going to give you those measurements. I believe that the original recipe made just enough to be eaten right away. It was probably just right to feed two hungry boys and their grandparents. We like to have them around for a while. They keep well if sealed in an airtight container. There is no need to refrigerate them. They travel well but if it is rather warm, you might want to separate each layer with parchment paper so that they don’t stick together. This is also a good idea when they are sitting on the counter during the summer months. However, if they do stick together, then you pull out one really big candy and you can say that you are only eating one because technically you are. You see how my mind works? I am always looking for a way to justify the calories. Sorry. Not sorry. Ok, back to the candies. It is difficult to find something to dislike about these. The candies are soft and sweet and chewy and peanut buttery with a bit of crunch. They make a great snack and pack up well for lunchboxes.
To make these delectable morsels you will need original Special K cereal. You can also use plain corn flakes, but I think that the texture of the Special K holds up better. You will also need peanut butter (plain or crunchy), white corn syrup, butter, and sugar. That’s it. Just 5 simple ingredients to make a great candy.
I suggest that you measure all of your ingredients first and have them at the ready. This recipe moves fast. Once your syrup and sugar begin to boil there is no time to measure peanut butter. So, anyway, measure everything first. In a large saucepan or stockpot, combine the sugar and corn syrup, mixing well. Heat this over medium or medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a full boil. You can see in my picture that large bubbles cover the entire surface. Remove from the heat.
Stir in the peanut butter and butter chunks.
Keep stirring until all is melted and smooth.
Add the cereal and stir quickly until everything is coated. Don’t get this mixture on your skin. It is HOT, and it sticks to you. That is a mistake that I have made a few times.
Let the mixture sit for about 2 minutes and then drop onto wax or parchment paper in whatever size mounds you desire. Mine are usually about 2 Tablespoons to begin with and then get larger as I go along because I get impatient. Oh, and fyi, any little chunks that go astray are totally calorie-free and up for grabs. Let the candies cool and set up before storing them but when you do, use an airtight container.
Grandma Birdie's Peanut Butter Candies
These candies are soft and sweet and chewy and peanut buttery with a bit of crunch. They make a great snack and pack up well for lunchboxes.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into chunks
- 2 cups creamy or chunky peanut butter (not natural)
- 9 cups Special K cereal
Directions
- Step 1 In a large saucepan or stock pot, combine the sugar and corn syrup, mixing well. Heat this over medium or medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a full boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
- Step 2 Stir in the peanut butter and butter chunks. Keep stirring until all is melted and smooth.
- Step 3 Add the cereal and stir quickly until everything is coated.
- Step 4 Let the mixture sit for about 2 minutes and then drop onto wax or parchment paper in 2 Tablespoon-sized mounds (or larger if you want).
- Step 5 Let the candies cool and solidify.
