Salted Caramel Popcorn, Pretzel & Peanut Bars
Let me introduce you to Rice Krispies treats on crack. Or steroids. Pick your poison. These are insanely, dangerously addictive. There aren’t even any Rice Krispies in them. Instead, we have a mixture of popcorn, pretzels and peanuts. And you know the whole butter and marshmallow mixture that traditionally binds everything together? Forget about it. How about marshmallows mixed with salted caramel? It’s the ultimate sweet and salty snack bar. It’s Rice Krispies treats meet Cracker Jacks. And this hybrid beats them both. I think I’m still in awe of how delicious this creation is. Also, have I mentioned how much I adore salted caramel? I currently want to put it on everything.
Here you go, the sweet and salty lineup.
We have salted caramel, popcorn, pretzels, peanuts, and another healthy dose of kosher salt. Sweet and salty heaven. I could bathe in this stuff!
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Now, for the popcorn you’re going to want to either pop your own or use a “homestyle” version – absolutely no added butter or flavorings, or it would just taste weird. I was planning on popping my own and then happened to see this while perusing the chip and pretzel aisle. If you can find something similar, then I would totally rock the microwave. One bag of this stuffed popped up almost exactly 12 cups of popcorn. Score!
The bars are pretty much made exactly like typical Rice Krispies treats. Only instead of melting butter, you make a salted caramel sauce, then stir in the marshmallows until melted. Pour it over all of the salted goodies (popcorn, pretzels and peanuts), mix it up, and press it into your pan. Let it cool and set up, cut it into bars, and then dive right into heaven.
One year ago: Pumpkin Pie Bars
Two years ago: Potato Rosemary Bread
Three years ago: Challah
Salted Caramel Popcorn, Pretzel & Peanut Bars
Ingredients
- 12 cups (132 g) plain popped popcorn
- 4 cups (320 g) coarsely chopped salted pretzels
- 1 cup (146 g) salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- ⅔ cup (158.67 ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (150 g) miniature marshmallows
Instructions
- Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
- Toss together the popcorn, pretzels and peanuts in a large bowl; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil, without stirring, until the mixture reaches an amber color, about 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly pour in the heavy cream (the mixture will bubble up and sputter). Immediately add the marshmallows and stir until melted.
- Pour the salted caramel mixture over the popcorn, pretzel and peanut mixture and quickly stir together with a rubber spatula (I find that spraying the spatula with nonstick cooking spray makes this easier) until all of the popcorn, pretzels and peanuts are coated with the caramel mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared 9x13-inch pan. Spray a small piece of wax paper with nonstick cooking spray and use to press mixture evenly into pan. Sprinkle with some additional kosher. Cool completely and then cut into bars. These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Re yr caramel sauce, Can i substitute a good gourmet ready-made caramel sauce like Williams Sonoma Caramel Sauce or Stonewall Kitchen’s Sea Salt Caramel Sauce (of course using less salt overall w SK caramel)?
Can I freeze these?
Hi Cynthia, You could try… I haven’t done so, but I would be worried about the texture of the popcorn once thawed… it might be chewy?
Hi Michelle, firstly congrats on your baby news
Oops, that didn’t work for me! What I was going to ask was, how much salted caramel sauce (made from your own recipe ) would I need for this recipe?
Hi Melissa, Thank you! Looking at the two recipes, you would need the whole recipe of the salted caramel, although my salted caramel calls for butter, and this one does not. I’m not sure if that would affect the final consistency since you are melting marshmallows into it.
8-12 minutes is a wide range. Can you provide a temperature? A candy thermometer would be so much more accurate when trying to replicate the recipe.
Sorry!!! Finally found the comment about the temperature.
OH, and how many cups of unpopped kernels would I need to make 12 cups? Would you know that?
Hi Yael, I am not sure how many cups of unpopped kernels you would need. I would check the package of kernels – it should tell you how much popped popcorn you’ll get for each measurement of kernels.
Okay, Newbie type of question here…when you say “heavy cream” is that like a whipped non whipped? I don’t know how they call it where I live (different language) but I do know they sell Rich’s Whip. Would it work?
Hi Yael, I am not familiar with Rich’s Whip. Heavy cream is basically just all the stuff that floats to the top when milk is produced. It’s a step above whole milk – much thicker. It is not whipped, but if you have something called heavy whipping cream, that would work too.
I made this recipe this morning and I had to stop myself from licking the bowl. I did eliminate the pretzels (I don’t like them) and added butterscotch chips. Thanks for such a great recipe!
After making your Salted caramel ice cream topping several times, I NEEDED to try this. So far, I’m feel a little disappointed.
I boiled the sugar mixture for at least 15 minutes. I am talking crazy rolling boil. The sugar mixture never got that rich color like the caramel topping. The sugar started to smell scorchy so, I added the cream and mallows. It got big and fluffy. The mixture tastes OK but, it doesn’t look like caramel at all. Also, I used 14 cups of popped plain popcorn, because I was worried it would be soggy like others described.
The mixture is cooling now but, it’s going to be soggy and mostly not edible, I’m sure. I wish there were instructions to use the regular caramel sauce for this recipe. I really wanted that rich caramel and this just didn’t bring it.
Which kind of pot did you boil the mixture in? It is difficult to tell what color using nonstick. I haven’t made this, but sugar mixtures always eventually turn amber before they burn/scorch and this made me wonder about your pot.
Can I just sub melted caramel candies for this recipe? If so, how much? Can I just add some salt to the melted caramels?
Hi Sara, You could use melted/salted caramel candies, but I would also add some heavy cream to make an actual sauce. Unfortunately, I don’t have the measurement for the amount of caramel that is actually used here, so I might need to do some trial and error if you go that route.
My caramel just isn’t getting dark. Its been 14 minutes, I’m so worried about burning it though.
Hi Tyson, Just stick with it. It depends on the heat level, “medium” can vary from stove to stove. You will definitely notice when it darkens and you’ll certainly smell it before it burns.
Made this today and it is delicious! Taste like a way better version of Crunch n Munch. But, I couldn’t get them to set up enough to cut them into bars. They were too gooey Any suggestions?
Hmm, if it was too soft the caramel may not have been hot enough or been cooked long enough. However, you could try putting the pan in the refrigerator to help them set up.
I think I didn’t let the caramel cook long enough. However, as an update, I took the pan to work and they were hit with my coworkers! When I mentioend that they didn’t set up right, everyone said they liked it gooey and not to change anything. So, maybe next time I’ll make them into balls or bits and pieces. Thanks for once again making me a star with the sweet tooths in my life!