crunchies: because life is too short

My dad, who's pretty much good at everything he's ever done, had quite a few tricks up his sleeve in the meal department while we were growing up.  One of my favorite family foods was his version of Chex-mix - a caramely, sweet crunchy creation made even better with the addition of chocolate chips.  It takes normal salty chexmix and shows its sweeter side.  These crunchies, as they came to be known, are one of my favorite memories of being in my parents home.  

Last year, when my parents came to visit us in Asia, my dad brought two very important things needed in the Crunchies process - a roasting pan and a big Tupperware thing.  I'm sure other things can be used in their place, but because my dad used them every single time he made crunchies, they came to be just about as necessary in my book as the butter.  He packed those bulky items in his suitcase, and now I am the blessed recipient of almost all the ingredients needed for the most-favored snack.  

Except Chex. Chex...it's a crazy thing.  It's really hard to find over here, and the one time I saw it, it was $10 a box. I really love crunchies, but I can't justify $10 a box.  But, one of our trunks on the way home from our Fall trip to America contained two boxes of Chex - one corn, and one rice.  (My dad uses wheat instead of rice chex.) and I've been saving it for a special occasion.

How much more special can you get than a New Year's Eve party?  Crunchies are the perfect party food, perfectly addicting and nicely satisfying.  I busted it out, following my dad's exact instructions a couple of days ago.  

The result was as good as I could have hoped.  It was so good, in fact, that I took pictures and am going to share the recipe here.  It's so totally fab, and packs such great memories for me.  It's the ultimate in family food.  

Crunchies, courtesy of RandyW:

Preheat oven to 250.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt:

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter

1/2 c. karo syrup (or light corn syrup)

Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil mixture about 5 minutes.  Do not stir.
In a lightly greased, large roasting pan, combine:

9 cups chex cereal (corn, rice, wheat, or any combination.  I used half and half of corn and rice.)

1 c. slivered almonds

After 5 minutes, remove butter/brown sugar mixture from head and add:

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 t. baking soda

Stir. 

Pour mixture over Chex cereal and mix thoroughly.
Bake for one hour, removing from oven to stir thoroughly every 15 minutes.  (Make sure when you stir, that you get all that yummy coating over all the parts of the cereal!)
After one hour, remove from oven and stir constantly until mixture begins to harden.  Do not let mixture form clumps.  

Pour into airtight container, being careful not to let mixture harden together.

Allow mix to col completely, then add:

1 cup chocolate chips
Happy New Year!