Honey Peanut Butter Candy

When Mark cooks, he's really good at it. He's known for his excellent breakfast-making skills (and has special cast iron biscuit pans for perfectly browned frozen biscuits). During the holidays, he specializes in a treat I'd never eaten until I moved to Mississippi: corn flake peanut butter candy. Once he perfected his system, he began churning out these chewy-crunchy-gooey bits of deliciousness in mass quantities. This year, he adapted the original recipe to substitute honey for part of the sugar. I'll list both of these, so you can experiment. The honey flavor is very subtle, and makes the final product slightly softer, which I personally enjoyed.

Original Recipe, with Keri Commentary:

Ingredients:
1 cup light corn syrup (aka Karo)
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter (your choice, we use creamy but crunchy would be tasty too!)
6-7 cups corn flakes

Instructions:
Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. (Do not overcook this syrup or you will end up with Rock Hard Peanut Butter Candy Suitable for Breaking Teeth.) Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Pour over corn flakes (use the biggest bowl you own -- see photo) and stir like the wind. Seriously, they set up fast. With a spoon or two, drop 2-inch servings onto wax paper. You will need A LOT of wax paper. Allow them to cool (or be like me and burn your fingers and/or mouth eating the first ones laid down), then package and give away quickly to avoid eating them all.

Mark's Marvelous Adaptation (with Keri Commentary):

3/4 cup light corn syrup (aka Karo)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter (your choice, we use creamy but crunchy would be tasty too!)
6-7 cups corn flakes

Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and honey. Why wait to add the honey? In hopes of preserving more of its helpful qualities! Pour over corn flakes (use the biggest bowl you own or you will have a big mess) and stir as fast as you can. Or get your tall, handsome husband to stir for you. With a spoon or two, drop 2-inch servings onto wax paper. You will need A LOT of wax paper. Allow them to cool (use this time to wash up your kitchen equipment in preparation for Round 2), then package and give away quickly to avoid eating them all.

Repeat. Until the sight of them makes you ill. Then remember someone you forgot to put on the Goody List and make another batch. About March, throw away the odd amount of corn flakes left over that won't make a whole batch and has gone stale.

Bee Sweet,
Keri