Bake Sale Madness - part 1 - Sweet Trail Mix

Do you remember my talking about frantically searching for 2 recipes yesterday? Well, here's why. I wanted to make them for a bake sale at our church tomorrow. It is during a craft boutique, so I thought that this Sweet Trail Mix would be easy to snack on while walking around and looking at all of the beautiful items for sale. I put 1 1/4 cups of mix each cello-bag and I got about 22 bags per recipe. I did make two batches of this and for two reasones: 1- It is SOOO good! 2- It is SOOO easy! lol Here's the recipe:

Sweet Trail Mix-

2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 box of Crispix cereal - or generic brand - either is fine
2 cups peanuts
1 bag of M&M's - the big bags in the candy aisle - not the little ones you find by the cash register

Before starting, tear off a couple of big sheets of wax paper or aluminum foil and place them on your counter to make one big sheet. You will need this to pour the hot mixture onto so that it can cool.

1. Empty the box of Crispix and peanuts into a brown paper grocery bag. Give it a good shake to mix.

2. In a medium sauce pan, bring the first three ingredients to a boil. Boil for three minutes. Remove the pan from heat and then add the vanilla and baking soda. Stir well.

3. Pour the mixture over the cereal. fold over the bag several times and give it a good shake. Be careful, because the syrup is VERY HOT and the bag will get hot in your hands. I try to hold it by the top where its rolled up and then use my other hand to help flip the bag from side to side and upside down and back.

4. Place the bag in the microwave. Cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes.

5. Remove the bag from the microwave and shake well again.

6. Place the bag back into the microwave and cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes.

7. Remove the bag from the microwave and shake well again. Pour the mixture out onto waxed paper or foil. Use a metal spatula to spread the mixture out as much as you can and to help break it up a bit. Once it is cooled, break apart clumps with your hands. Pour into a big bowl and add the M&M's.

8. Put into an air-tight container or big Zip-loc bag. Enjoy!!!

Here is how I packaged them for the bake sale!