Over the course of our 11 year marriage, I’ve learned a lot from my husband. Today, I’m sharing one of the yummiest things I’ve learned from him – his mother’s recipe for Old Fashioned Cornflake Candy. It was passed on to her from an elderly lady before her passing, so I’m happy to keep passing down the yummy goodness!
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Before I got the the recipe from my mother-in-law, she used to make this and send it The Teacher husband every Christmas. Now, we get to enjoy it whenever we want. It wouldn’t be fair for me to keep it for myself now, would it?
You will need granulated sugar, light corn syrup, peanut butter, and corn flakes. Make sure you grab a large saucepan, a wooden or plastic spoon, and some parchment paper too while you’re gathering your supplies and ingredients.
How to Make Cornflake Candy
Here’s what you’ll need to do.
In a large saucepan*, cook the 1 C. corn syrup and 1 C. sugar (on medium heat) until the sugar dissolves.
Add 1 C. peanut butter and stir* until smooth.
Gradually add in a total of 6 C. corn flakes, 1 C. at a time, while mixing.
Remove from heat, then spoon mixture onto wax paper* {or aluminum foil in our case since we were out} and let cool completely.
**The official recipe calls for 6 C. of corn flakes, but you can use anywhere from 4-6 C. depending on how much you’d like to make and how crunchy or “gooey” you’d like your cornflake candy (use more cornflakes for more crunch). For this post and these pictures, we only used 4 C. of corn flakes, so keep that in mind when making yours.
ENJOY!
Did your spouse bring any good recipes into your marriage?
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- 1 C. sugar
- 1 C. light corn syrup
- 1 C. peanut butter
- 6 C. corn flakes**
- In a large saucepan, cook the corn syrup and sugar {on medium heat} until the sugar dissolves.
- Add peanut butter and stir until smooth.
- Gradually add corn flakes, 1 C. at a time, while mixing.
- Remove from heat, then spoon mixture onto wax paper {or aluminum foil} and let cool completely.
- **The official recipe calls for 6 C. of corn flakes, but you can use anywhere from 4-6 C. depending on how much you’d like to make and how crunchy or “gooey” you’d like your candy {use more cornflakes for more crunch}.
Love the story behind those!! Makes me want to bake up one of my MIL's recipes for husby!!
🙂 My MIL is a great cook and I can use all the help I can get!!
I've never had something like this but it looks totally delicious! YUM!
http://iheartvegetables.com
I haven't met many people who didn't like it! Let me know what you think once you try it!! 🙂
I have forever been loooking for this. I love this candy. Thank you!
I'm so glad!!
Yum!! I've never tried this with cornflakes. I use this mixture with popcorn and it is very good! Thanks for sharing this at Think Tank Thursday. I have featured you today! http://saving4six.com/2014/08/welcome-to-think-tank-thursday-94.html
I never thought about using popcorn, but it sounds yummy! Thanks so much for the feature on Think Tank Thursday – I love all the great ideas!! Thanks for hosting. 🙂
Thank you. I used to have this recipe but lost it. I love this candy.
Oh, I'm so glad!!
Try this recipe with Fritos. And if you want to add peanuts that would work also.
Yum….I love Fritos and I bet the salty added to the sweet would be great!! thanks for sharing!
I have been looking for a recipe like this for a good while now. Our cafeteria ladies used to serve this to us in elementary school, brings back good memories of Mrs. Carol!
I'm so glad to hear that!
My husband brought something called Apple Log and when I went to the ER our daughter discovered it could be converted into Egg Log. Either way, it is a wad of things that are delicious, just not when he mixes it.
This looks delicious! So simple and old fashioned! Can you double this recipe? Or do you recommend doing small batches?
I've honestly never tried to double it, but I would think it would be okay. If you do try to double it, let me know how it works out!!
I just made these..they turned out so good..thanks for sharing
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Made these tonight and followed the recipe exactly…when cooled they were literally rock hard. Un edible hard! Is this normal
I'm sorry to hear that – I've never had that experience! It will be crunchier if you use the full 6C. of cornflakes, but I've never had it to be so hard that it's not edible. I'm so sorry!
Could not even bite into them. would love to try them any suggestions?
I'm still stumped as to what may have gone wrong. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was cooked too long. Maybe try keeping the heat low and dissolving the sugar really gradually and making sure it never gets too hot? Good luck!
A teacher I used to help in high school made this using Fritos instead of cornflakes. They came out so great!
Oh wow, I bet the combo of sweet and salty is yummy! I may have to try that!
I have made this a hundred times over the last 15 years. It is almost the same as the recipe for Special K bars. Only thing missing is that recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter. I followed the Special K recipe but substituted cornflakes because they were cheaper. I also started doing 1-1/4 cups of the sugar, peanut butter and syrup. Makes a softer bar. I also have found that they will get harder if cooked to long. Bring the sugar, syrup and butter if using to a boil and take off the stove before adding peanut butter and cornflakes. I never thought of using popcorn or Fritos. Will have to try that. I always made bars and topped with melted chocolate and butterscotch chips but dropping them instead I never thought of. Good idea.
I never thought about using Special K…thanks for sharing!
I make these with Special K cereal….it is a bit more expensive, but the light, airy texture of the flakes makes them oh so yummy!!! We call them Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies. They are my son's favorite, but I almost hate making them because I can't stop eating them! 🙂 My recipe is identical except it only calls for 3 cups of Special K cereal, but I add a little more…..probably closer to the 4 cups you used. I think I'll have to make some in the next day or two!
My mom has an old recipe similar to this except it uses rice crispies instead of corn flakes and also adds 1 cup coconut.
I am revisiting fav old recipes this Saturday before Thanksgiving. Love these! And so does everyone else. Thinking about putting them on a tray of cookies to take home since they would travel so well, unlike a pie or frosted cake. Thanks for the recipe reminder!
You are right about these travelling well. Hope you enjoyed them!!
I have loved these since I was a child. I could LIVE off of those….
I agree!!
My Grandmother use to make these for us. Thank you for bringing back those memories. The only thing she did different was instead of just dropping them by the spoonful, she rolled the spoonful into balls, and that's what we called them….Cornflake Balls. Yummy!
I may have to try rolling them into balls next time. That would be cute! Thanks for sharing!
I have been making these with Rice Chex. They are delicious.And so addicting! I will try them with the Cornflakes.
I have been making these for years, but with chocolate chips added with the cornflakes. They partially melt during the mixing, so the finished product tastes just like a Baby Ruth bar. Delicious!
PS – to save time, I just pat mixture into a buttered pan and cut into bars instead of making individual candies.
Oh wow, that sounds yummy! I like your idea about making them into bars and may have to try that next time. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
I made these when my kids were small but have lost the recipe somewhere along the way and have looked for it, thank you so much and I am saving to try to make a batch in the next week or so.
Oh yay! It’s frustrating to loose an old recipe. I hope it turns out the way you remember! Have a great day! –Sarah 🙂