Furikake Crispix Mix

I love to make cereal mixes for parties and easy holiday gifts. This mix is a great combination of sweet and savory and buttery goodness. It's so good my friends call it snack crack.

This mix always reminds me of Hawaii because of the furikake and soy sauce. There are lots of different types of furikake, a Japanese condiment made of dried seaweed and other seasonings commonly used to top rice, vegetables, or fish. Most recipes use nori furikake (seaweed and sesame seeds) but I like using ochazuke wakame furikake which contains seaweed and rice crackers. Feel free to use any of the seaweed-based furikake mixes but stay away from the ones with dried fish flakes.

The recipe is simple enough - coat Crispix cereal with a sweet, savory syrup and mix in furikake,

The hardest part is waiting for it to bake and cool before eating.

Furikaki Crispix

Modified slightly from Tasting Table

4 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup corn syrup
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
9½ cups Crispix cereal (about one 13½ ounce box)
½ cup furikake (seaweed type, not fish based)

Preheat the oven to 250°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter (I use cooking spray).

In a small saucepan, melt together the butter, oil, corn syrup, sugar and soy sauce over medium heat. Stir until the ingredients are well incorporated and the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Add the Crispix to the greased dish and spread into an even layer, then slowly pour the syrup mixture over to coat thoroughly. Sprinkle the furikake a little at a time, so it doesn't clump, while stirring carefully to not crush the cereal.

Bake on the center rack, stirring gently every 15 minutes, until the syrup thickens and little chunks of cereal flakes form, 1 hour.

Spread the Crispix over a parchment paper-lined sheet tray and let cool for about 10 minutes. Serve right away in a big bowl or store in a air tight container.