This is what Homemade Peanut Butter Captain Crunch looks like:
I’m your friend that loves real food and home cooking but can’t stand it when a recipe is high maintenance. You’ve watched me pare down my “from scratch” cooking methods through the years.
- Cutting in butter? I don’t think so.
- Knead bread? Why – when I can do this?
- 5-minute granola on the stove-top? Uh-huh.
- Tedious side dishes? Pretty much never.
- Freezer meals in minutes? Absolutely, yes.
So why I decided to attempt making Homemade Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, I do not know.
Wait. Yes, I do know. That was my very favorite cereal as a kid. Of course, we never had it in our house. We only had the “healthy” kinds of cereal like Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and Cheerios. But when I went to my cousin’s house? They always had Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch!! I decided I’d never tasted anything so amazing.
This is why, when I ran across this recipe yesterday, I got all giddy and excited. I determined to make it with the ingredients I had on hand and cut down the sugar and see what happened.
Well, I tell ya – it’s good. It’s obviously not the same as what you pour out of a box. It’s not nearly as sweet the way I made it – though lightly sweetened is good enough for me. The fact that there is real, natural peanut butter in these is nice for a punch of protein. And the little cereal bits really are crunchy – which means you can pour actual milk over them and eat them like actual cereal and pretend you are a kid at your cousin’s house again. (Thank you Uncle Howard and Aunt Ruth for providing this fun memory from childhood!)
The draw back? Well, this is not a quick stir-pour-bake recipe. I’m not sure it’s really worth it for me to stand in the kitchen for over an hour making one box worth of cereal that we consume in one meal. I probably won’t make this very often – but if I ever get a hankering for Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, the recipe is here. Sometimes it’s worth going to the trouble.
Homemade Peanut Butter Captain Crunch
adapted from this recipe
- 1⅔ cup natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ cup brown sugar or sucanat
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 3-4 cups flour (+ -) any combination of oat, wheat, or corn flour
- Melt peanut butter, butter, and coconut oil together on the stovetop.
- Measure sugar or sucanat into a large bowl.
- Pour melted peanut butter mixture over the sugar and stir.
- Add milk, salt, vanilla, and baking soda, stirring well.
- Slowly stir in flour until dough becomes stiff enough to roll out.
- Press or roll dough into a cookie sheet until it is about ¼-inch.
- Use a butter knife to cut thin strips about ¼-inch wide.
- Turn dough and cut strips again the same size to form tiny squares.
- Separate the pieces so they will bake more evenly.
- Bake in a 325° oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring half-way through.
- Pieces will become crispier once they come out of the oven.
You’ll definitely want to check out my homemade peanut butter, which makes everything better (unless you’re allergic to peanuts).
What do you think? Do you love Peanut Butter Captain Crunch enough to think this is worth the effort? It IS yummy! It’s even hearty and great for a snack.
