Warm cinnamon rolls with sweet cinnamon filling and gooey frosting are always a hit, which is why you're going to love this Cinnamon Roll Crunch mix. Playing off all the familiar flavors, this crunch mix is easy to make and perfect for sharing.
Create a deliciously sweet cinnamon-spiced snack mix by combining Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, yogurt-covered raisins, a cinnamon candy coating, and other tasty ingredients. It's an indulgent treat perfect for enjoying yourself or for gifting to others.
Read on for all the loving details to make Cinnamon Roll Crunch.
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Featured Ingredients
Read below about a few of the ingredients used to make Cinnamon Roll Crunch.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal - This recipe mimics a cinnamon roll so it must include lots of cinnamon. To help, I use this iconic cereal. Feel free to substitute Golden Grahams if you want a lighter cinnamon flavor.
Vanilla Life cereal - I also wanted to play up the vanilla in the recipe to support the frosting flavor. This new version of Life cereal works perfectly. However, feel free to substitute original Life cereal, Rice Chex, or Crispix.
Raisins - This recipe uses plain raisins as well as yogurt covered raisins. I found these in bulk in my grocery store. Otherwise they would probably be in the pantry aisle or organics/health food section. Try to use the freshest raisins you can find.
Vanilla melting wafers - This is also called candy coating or candy melts. It's often chocolate flavored, but is also popular in white chocolate or vanilla. You can also use this candy to make chocolate dipped strawberries.
Sugar - I use white granulated sugar in this recipe, but you can absolutely substitute brown sugar for a richer flavor. It also includes light corn syrup, which prevents the granulated sugar from crystallizing.
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools for the job
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 2 quart sauce pot
- Large bowl
- Whisk, spatula, fork
- Parchment paper or wax paper
- Sheet pan (optional)
What is a crunch mix
This refers to recipes involving many small snacks, candies, cereals, and dried fruits tossed together and served. It is also called a party mix, snack mix, or simply munch. Sometimes, the mixture is coated in a candy shell, chocolate, and/or toffee. These crunch mixes can be sweet or savory. The savory versions are usually tossed in oil and seasonings and then baked.
Types of crunch mixes and candy coatings
While researching this recipe, I discovered four main types of crunch mixes. Here's a summary of each and why I prefer this recipe's version the most.
- Crunch Mix with No Candy Coating: This option is definitely the easiest. You simply toss together a variety of snacks, sweets, and cereals and serve! It makes for a fun dish, especially for movie night when paired with popcorn.
- Crunch Mix Coated with Melting Candy - This method uses the simplicity of the mixture above by tossing together all the ingredients, followed by a coating in melted chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or creamy melting candy. It then sits until firm, and you break it into bite-sized pieces.
- Crunch Mix Coated with Boiled Sugar Syrup: In this method, you make a sugar syrup that is boiled for 3 minutes. Then, you must quickly toss the crunch mix in the syrup to ensure everything is well coated. After that, you'll lay the mixture out to cool without baking.
- Crunch Mix Coated with Sugar Syrup, Then Baked: This version is similar to #3 but includes baking soda in the sugar syrup and only requires the syrup to melt and combine before using. After mixing the syrup with the crunch mix, you bake it on a pan at a low temperature (225°-250°F) for 10-20 minutes. The heating process melts the syrup, allowing you to stir and coat all the ingredients thoroughly. The baking soda helps the hardened sugar syrup remain slightly chewy.
I think the candy coating in the third option achieves a nice chewiness while still hardening up enough to hold everything together. Plus, you can skip the extra baking step and deal with less clean-up, making it a win-win! If you'd like to try the other way, add ½ teaspoon of baking soda into the sugar syrup with the cinnamon and bake at 225°F for 10-15 minutes, stirring once. Cool for an hour.
How to make Cinnamon Roll Crunch
- First, add both cereals and chopped pecans to a large bowl. Measure out the yogurt raisins and set aside.
- Next, add the sugar, corn syrup, and butter to a 2-quart sauce pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 3 minutes.
- Pull the sugar syrup off the stove and quickly whisk in the vanilla extract and cinnamon.
- Immediately pour the sugar syrup all over the cereal and pecans and toss to coat everything in the syrup.
- Once the cereals are coated, dump the mixture onto parchment or wax paper to cool.
- Then, scatter yogurt raisins across the mix.
- Last, melt the vanilla melting candy according to package directions, then drizzle it all over the crunch mixture using a fork. Drizzle the candy in all directions.
- Let the mixture sit for at least an hour before breaking apart into bite-sized pieces. I like to let it sit for 3-4 hours.
- Feel free to add another layer of vanilla candy drizzle after breaking it apart.
Make the sugar syrup by putting the sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a pot to boil.
Boil the syrup for 3 minutes before removing from the heat.
Remove the syrup from the heat and stir in vanilla extract and cinnamon.
Add the cereals and pecans to a bowl and measure out both raisins.
Pour the sugar syrup over the crunch mix and toss to coat.
Lay the mixture out onto parchment paper, spreading it out as much as possible.
Scatter both raisins all over the crunch mix.
Drizzle melted vanilla candy coating all over the mix. Breaking it apart after it cools.
Hot Tip!
If all you have for this recipe is dried-out raisins, it's really easy to plump them up. Run your tap water as hot as possible and submerge the raisins in the hot water in a bowl for 10-15 minutes. Drain onto a paper towel and pat them dry as much as possible before adding them to the mix.
Substitutions and Variations for Cinnamon Roll Crunch
- Sugar - You can swap the white sugar for a packed ½ cup of brown sugar.
- Life cereal - If you can't find Vanilla Life cereal, opt for regular Life, Rice Chex, or Crispix cereal.
- Yogurt pretzels - For a sweet/salty version of this mix, add yogurt-covered pretzels. You can either substitute the yogurt pretzels for the yogurt raisins or add them to the mix with the raisins.
Leftovers Cinnamon Roll Crunch
- Leftover crunch mix can be stored in a sealed container or zip-top bag for up to 2 weeks. Do not freeze or refrigerate.
Food Safety
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
More sweet treats
Here are a few more recipes you might like!
Cinnamon Roll Crunch
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups
Description
Try Cinnamon Roll Crunch, a mouthwatering snack mix inspired by the flavors of gooey cinnamon rolls. Two kinds of cereals, raisins, and sweet frosting like vanilla candy drizzle. It's perfect for sharing and gifting!
Ingredients
- 5 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
- 3 cups Vanilla Life cereal
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup yogurt-covered raisins
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 ounces vanilla melting candy
Instructions
- Add both cereals and the chopped pecans to a large bowl. Measure out the yogurt raisins and set aside.
- Next, add the sugar, corn syrup, and butter to a 2-quart sauce pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 3 minutes. Remove the sugar syrup from the stove and quickly whisk in the vanilla extract and cinnamon. Immediately pour the sugar syrup all over the cereal and pecans and toss to coat everything in the syrup.
- Once the cereals are completely coated, dump the mixture onto parchment or wax paper to cool. Spread the candy out across the paper.
- Then, scatter yogurt raisins across the mix.
- Last, melt the vanilla melting candy according to package directions and drizzle it over the crunch mixture using a fork. Drizzle the candy in all directions. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour before breaking apart into bite-sized pieces. I like to let it sit for 3-4 hours.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: American
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