Homemade Salted Nut Bars

I’m not suggesting that this is a healthy alternative, understand.

salty nutty bars 003 

I mean, really, just look at them.  They must be evil on many levels.

But when you make it yourself , you don’t include ingredients you can’t vouch for or pronounce.  Or at least I don’t.

And actually, I’m going to give you my new and improved rendition of these bars, because the first ones I made following a recipe, they were too rich and thick and full of the dreaded corn syrup.

July and onward 011 and marshmallows.

They are still rich, and they have some corn syrup, but I cut down on the amount and also on the marshmallows and made them in a much larger pan, so there is less cake bar bottom.

Here is the recipe- they are really quite good- especially if you are sending them in a bag lunch or to a gathering with a lot of young people.

Base layer:

Yellow cake mix

1/3 cup butter

1 large egg

3 cups mini marshmallows

Mix together and press into the base of a jelly roll pan (at least 11×15) or into a 13×9 and an8x8 inch pans.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 12 to 15 minutes- pull out of oven cover surface area with marshmallows and put back into oven for another 3 minutes.

Topping:

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup butter

2 tsp. vanilla

12 oz package of peanut butter or butterscotch morsels

2 cups Rice Krispy cereal

2 cups salted nuts

Put corn syrup, honey, butter and vanilla in saucepan and cook over low heat until melted, add morsels (peanut butter or butterscotch), and stir until this is all melted and just starts to bubble (low boil).

Add rice cereal and coat it with mixture, then carefully spoon it on top of marshmallow layer on the cake base. The marshmallows will be all melty and it takes a little care to keep it from becoming a gooey mess.  Now shake the peanuts or whatever nuts you decided to use – evenly over the top and push them into the rice krispy layer with the back of a spoon.

Cool, and cut into bars.

 

July and onward 012 July and onward 014

salty nutty bars 001 They are really delicious.

salty nutty bars 002

These long and thin bars are the healthier of the two pictured above.

I cut down the amount of yellow cake base, and the amount of corn syrup in half.

4 thoughts on “Homemade Salted Nut Bars

  1. Is the recipe above the basic recipe, or your version with HALF the syrup?

    How much less cake base did you use? Did you make the full cake base but just not use it all in the pan (if so, how much did you use of what you made?), or did you cut down on ingredients? (if the latter, what were the amounts used?)

  2. This is my version with half the syrup. I used the whole cake base, but with a much larger pan- 11×15 instead of 9×13. It made the base much thinner and more bar-like (rather than cakey).
    If you want to make the original, use 2/3 cup of corn syrup and leave out the honey, and use a 9×13 pan.

  3. Pingback: When good things get even better…! Salty almond bars- a recipe. at Steps On the Journey

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