Yep, I’ve been on Pinterest again.
I’m slowly working my way through my Must Make This board.
I saw that this recipe for Crunchers was one of the most popular recipes on Pinterest.
Crunchers are dessert bars which combine a buttery graham caramel layered between crackers and topped with a chocolate-peanut butter-butterscotch coating.
Incredibly sinful and totally recommended. At once sweet and salty, Crunchers are a butterscotch version of homemade Twix Candy Bars.
I cut mine into very small squares, since the Crunchers are very rich. Then I would go ahead and eat 10 at a time.
Crunchers
Ingredients:
80 Keebler Club Crackers (or use Nabisco Waverly Crackers, Christie Toppable Crackers or a similarly buttery cracker that has a rectangular shape.)
1 cup butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels
Directions:
1. Line an ungreased 9 X 13-inch baking pan with foil, allowing foil to extend about an inch on either end. Line the foil with 1 layer of club crackers, cutting to fit if necessary.
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, milk and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. (Begin timing 5 minutes from when you see the first bubbles.)
3. Remove from heat and spread half of graham mixture evenly over crackers. Place another single layer of crackers evenly over graham mixture, cutting to fit if necessary. Spread remaining graham mixture evenly over crackers. Top evenly with remaining crackers.
4. In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, chocolate morsels, and butterscotch morsels. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over top of crackers. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Note: I had difficulty getting the butterscotch chips to melt completely, but it was truly not a problem. Tasted great anyhow.
5. Lift foil overhang and remove Crunchers from pan. Cut into bars.
Makes a lot
Recipe from Twirl And Taste
One of the most popular songs on playlists and mixes that I make is You Know by Lord Cut Glass.
Over a year now and going strong in my musical heart.
Check out Lord Cut Glass on Myspace and at Chemikal Underground Records, where you can buy the music.
Cheers!
How long can you store these?
Mine kept really well in an airtight container for 4 days…and then they were gone. I bet that they would have kept even longer. They were still crunchy and gooey at the same time.
I have not tried these but interesting enough I was making a butter with brown sugar The first time it clumped just as you ladies are describing. I had melted the butter, put in brown sugar and it clumped. However, the second time, I use a lower heat and added brown sugar before it was totally melted. At first, I thought it was going to do the same thing because the brown sugar and butter were not mixing together. But I stuck in out and followed time for boiling, stirring continually and waaalllaaa, it turned out perfect. I think the trick is put in all ingredients (butter and graham crackers, very fine) heat up on low heat, stirring the whole time. Once you see a bubble, start timing your time for boil. Hope this helps.
Excellent information! Thank you so much for sharing.
Any suggestions on what to use instead of peanut butter? I’m allergic to all nuts, but would like to try these!
WOWButter seems to be the number one choice out there for those who cannot eat peanut butter. Check out the website here.
It appears that it can be heated like regular peanut butter for recipes. There is a link to click at the bottom of the website for recipe ideas.
Let me know if you try this product and how it comes out in the Crunchers. Thanks for stopping by!
I used cookie butter and it tasted really good!
What a great idea! I’ll have to try that.
Just got done making these and it was HORRIBLE to put together!!!!! Not sure what the consistancy was supposed to be when I “boiled” the graham cracker crumbs, etc., but it was a solid clump that was not liquid AT ALL!!…and trying to spread that stuff on those crackers was almost impossible!!!! I haven’t tasted them yet, but I can tell you one thing…I don’t care what they taste like…I will NOT be doing THAT again.
Oh No! I am so sorry to hear that. I am going to shout out on my Facebook page and see if anyone else had a bad result.
Thanks so much for letting me know. This recipe is one of the most popular on my site and I would hate if I am giving bad instructions. I think I will make them again and see what might have went wrong for you.
Again, I appreciate you stopping by ISITK and so appreciate your feedback on the recipe. x
mine were very tricky to make as well, I believe it may have been the cooking of the graham cracker mixture too long. However, EVERYONE loved them!
It’s a good thing that the Crunchers are so delicious or it would not be worth all of the effort!
Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know the everyone loved the recipe. x
Mine were the exact same way Jolie! They didn’t taste great either. Idk what happened I did exactly as the directions said :-(
Hi Allison,
Thanks for your comment. I had a few people run into trouble with the recipe, so I remade the Crunchers here. Maybe have a look and see if the post might be helpful.
I really appreciate you stopping by.
I bet you didn’t cook it on medium heat. Mine were great.
If you leave out the peanut butter the recipe is great. I tried both with and without and you get such a smooth texture for spreading without it. I think it taste great with no peanut butter. The peanut butter is what makes the ingredients separate and clump. Try without and you wont be disappointed.
That is so interesting! I will definitely try. Thank you!!
The pictures show butter CRACKERS not graham – am I looking at the wrong?
Yes, the crackers are the butter kind. The mixture layered between them contains graham cracker crumbs. I hope that answered your question!
I’d say using peanut butter chips, along with the other flavored ones, would make the taste right but not have the problems with separation.
Good to know, I can stop dreaming of these.
Mine came out the same. Don’t know what I did wrong
I also just tried the recipe … and came up with a lump of graham crackers. And the butter separated – making an oily mess at the end. Ugh. I’m soo disappointed!
Oh, Denice, that makes me so sad! When I got your comment today I went right out to the store to buy the ingredients I need to make the Crunchers. I am going to make them really sloooooooowly and see if I can pick up what made the graham part of the recipe go so wrong.
Thank you for letting me know. Hopefully, I can figure out what the problem is.
I appreciate your help! I tried a second batch, the butter and grahams stayed together better and were of a spreadable consistency this time … but the butter separated again.
I just spread what I could and left some of the butter out. Who knows what it will taste like (will try them soon!). Thanks again!!
Hi Denice-
Did your second batch taste alright?
I remade the recipe yesterday. I noticed that I had not paid attention to how high the heat was during the 5 minutes of boiling. This time I did note that my heat was on medium high and the graham mixture was ready just before the 4 minute mark. I kept it boiling, though, to see what happened at 5 minutes.
I had the same thing happen to me as happened to you. There was some separation of butter. I poured it off into a bowl and used the de-buttered mixture with excellent results. The mixture was thick and easy to spread.
I am going to write a “Crunchers Revisited” post today with my photos of the process and the finished crunchers.
Again, thank you for the feedback. I try hard to post only recipes that work.
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Thank you, Thank you!!! Reading your new “revisited” comments, and your comments to me… Yes! This is exactly what happened! The second time around, ithe graham/butter was certainly useable – and tasted fine (even without all the butter)!
I will make these again, knowing that I don’t have to go the full 5 minutes (I did keep the heat to under a medium-high temp – which was another reason I was so dismayed!) will really keep an eye on it next time!!). I’ll keep stirring until the mixture is thick … not separated!
Thanks again for all your help!
I hope this does the trick for you as it really is a delicious confection…if it works!
Give me a shout the next time you try the recipe and let me know how things turned out.
Happy Spring x
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These are TERRIFIC!! The aluminum foil was a life saver. How do I get the graham cracker mix to not seep to underneath the first cracker layer?! Deliciously sticky with the amazing combo of sweet flavors!
Hi Jenn. So glad you liked the recipe.
I had a number of readers comment on some difficulties with the Crunchers recipe, so I remade them and paid close attention to all of the steps. You can read the post here. Let me know if that helps at all.
Thank you for stopping by!
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I made these and everything went fine. The mix is thick but looks like the picture. I even tripled the recipe so I can share. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the recipe. Some people just need more practice cooking this type of mix. You have to constantly stir and it takes a bit to reach that 5 min boil. Great recipe. Thanks
I’m so glad it worked for you and that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for letting me know.
I followed the directions exactly. This is the second time I have made a batch. I have not experienced any of the issues the others have encountered. I always use unsalted butter, so maybe using salted butter possibly caused them a separating problem. I kept mine at a slow boil, between medium and low because I have All Clad pots and I have a gas stove which tend to conduct a higher heat. I started timer for 5 minutes when first bubble appeared and stirred it constantly.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for your information! So glad that you had success each time.
Interesting thought about the butter. I’ll have to try the recipe again doing a side by side comparison with salted and unsalted. (I just have to make sure that I have a crowd on hand to eat them. It’s not safe for me to be alone with them!)
Since its a layered cookie the mixture needs to be smooth & very pourable (if that’s a word) the crackers will move as you spread the mixture over them so try using a offset spatula. If you’ve ever made Hello Dollies it the same principle. I must say they look awesome & I know they wouldn’t last 4 days in our house
We beat you…3 days in our house. :)
And I adore Hello Dollies. Yum.
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In days of old this was why a candy thermometer was used. When boiling caramel and Candy mixtures it is important not to go above the hard crack or soft crack stage depending on what you’re going for. I am sure that’s what has happened with the lumpy mixtures. AnothEr method that can be used without a thermometer is to take a cup of cold water. Drrop a small drop of the mixture into the cup. If it becomes hard it is at the Hard crack stage. And if it is soft and gummy it is that the soft ball stage…the correct stage for this recipe I am guessing. From immediately from the heat. it has to do with the temperature reached And the length of time boiling to determine the two.
Thank you so much for sharing all of that info! Very helpful to know.
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Made these today for Derby Day. Swapped out the 1/2 C milk for 1/2 C bourbon. Delicious!
Wow! That sounds fantastic. I am definitely going to try your version! Thanks for sharing with me. x
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Your recipe resurfaced onto my Pinterest page and I had to try it! It was such an easy recipe to follow. I had no problem with the boiling and spreading of the graham cracker, sugar and butter sauce, and the peanut butter mixture was super smooth and spreadable. It’s in the fridge cooling now. Can’t wait!
I’m really glad the recipe worked for you. Thanks so much for letting me know and for stopping by! x
I would like to be on your new post email list. Thank You
I would love you to be on the email list! It’s easy to sign up. On the right side of the page, scroll way down until you see “Email Subscripition”. Then fill in your email address and hit the “Sing Me Up” button. That should do it. x
I’ve made these 4 times now and turned out perfect each time. The butterscotch chips didn’t melt completely but who cares, everyone loved them and said they were better than Twix! Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for letting me know. x
I don’t see a link to print just the recipe?
I’m sorry, Lucy. Lo-tech me is to blame for not having a print button. I know it’s inconvenient to cut and paste to get the recipe in print form. I will look into getting a plug-in to allow for recipe printing. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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Everyone having trouble with it clumping and tasting bad is cooking on too high a heat and for too long. Lower heat and check out this recipe out other sites for more tips. It will bubble at med just takes longer. I do cut lower after it starts to bubble.
I just made this recipe following the exact directions and it’s in the fridge cooling now. Everything seemed to work as it should. The filling was easy to pour and I spread with rubber spatula, it was definitely thick. Then I just melted the topping on a lower medium heat and stirred constantly. It melted and poured beautifully, even the butterscotch. Looking forward to cutting these up.
I’m so glad you had successful results. I hope you enjoyed them once you dug in!
I just made these today. Getting ready to cut them now. Most asked for cookie by everyone I know.
Yay! Thanks so much for letting me know.