Thursday, April 12, 2012

Those Peanut Butter Cornflakes Things

I have been working on Ben's iron stomach for some time now; he knows not to ask how old things are, or how many times things have been frozen, etc.  At this point, he is in the same league as my dad and grandfather.  He is an accelerated learner, what can I say?!

Does anybody else get an extreme high from making something with ingredients that are:
1.  About to go bad (notice I didn't say expire, I do not believe in expiration dates and neither does my friend Zhenya)
2.  About to run out
3.  Aren't about to go bad, per se, but have been with me since college (and sadly, have been moved...as in changed houses...10 times since then)

I cannot explain this feeling!  Emily Milner Avery are you with me?!

I know that I get this "talent" from my mom, and she from her mom.  I wouldn't want to traverse through life any other way.

So here we are, making Those Peanut Butter Things.  I knew I had a huge box of Corn Flakes somewhere in my pantry.  Okay, who am I kidding, I knew EXACTLY where they were in my pantry.  I should have checked their freshness level from the beginning, because later on during the recipe, I couldn't tell if they were just really stale, or if the recipe somehow converted them to something that couldn't be chewed.  And this girl was devastated when I thought I may have wasted an entire jar of peanut butter on stale Corn Flakes...

The corn syrup had definitely been hanging around for some time.  The white chocolate chips were on their way out too.  (Sorry to everyone who ate some...but we're all still alive!)

Back to Those Peanut Butter Cornflakes Things.

We start with 8 oz. of corn syrup, 1 cup of sugar, and an ENTIRE jar of peanut butter.  I am not typically enthusiastic about using an entire jar of peanut butter in one recipe, but I just picked up 5 jars at Harris Teeter for 60 cents two weeks ago, and another 5 jars last week for 32 cents.  I had a few to spare.


Bring everything to a very low boil.  But be super careful here, this stuff will burn in a flash.


Sorry about these stupid and useless photos.  I just wanted to share my excitement over being able to recycle every single container that I used in this recipe, I even used the last of the sugar!! 


Once everything has mixed, dump in 6 or so cups of Corn Flakes.  Make sure they are fresh...ha!  Coat all of the Corn Flakes thoroughly, being careful not to smash them to smithereens.  Then, press into a 9x13 pan.  

While they are still hot, dump some chocolate chips (my mom likes to use butterscotch, I used a mix of white and semi-sweet) on top to melt, and then spread them around with a knife.  Let them cool for a few hours, until they are firm.

I should mention, that after mine had cooled, we were able to chew the Corn Flakes.  Mystery to me.



Basically, we are making Rice Krispie Treats.  Except they are more like Those Peanut Butter Cornflakes Things.

And I'd like to share the recipe verbatim which my mom sent to me last year:

 Those cornflakes things. I will have to guess!

Half a bottle of corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 jar peanut butter

cook over med heat till sugar melts

add 6 c of cornflakes
stir till blended. put in greased 9x13 pan
put butterscotch chips on top warm stuff spread when soft. I hope that is
right!


Does anybody know the real name for these?!

1 comment:

  1. I AM WITH YOU, Maribeth Kellenbenz Scott. As is my husband. Who throws an awfully sweet tantrum if things get so old (slash so-mildewed-i-can't-tell-what-it-used-to-be) they have to be thrown out. That's a no-no.

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