Easy, tasty and fully of flavor this Homemade Star Crunch is a nostalgic recipe that will bring back memories from your childhood. A perfect snacking treat the whole family will enjoy.
I have to admit Star Crunch growing up was one of my absolute favorite snacks or desserts. But I’m also going to admit that I still love them, but I also love making them at home.
When I can make some of my favorite recipes at home, I love to do it. And trust me we do it a lot, not only are they actually super simple, it saves you money in the long run.
Who doesn’t want to save money when they can, also I prefer homemade on a lot of stuff and this Star Crunch Recipe is one of them. They are absolutely addictive.
They have a nice chocolate and caramel flavor just like the original, once you make these you will not want to go back to the boxed ever again, at least we don’t.
There is something about the crunch and chocolate coating that just gets me, they are chewy, soft and overall just absolutely delicious and you won’t want to stop at just one.
Some of our other favorite chocolate recipes that we have on our site include Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, Homemade Chocolate Pudding and Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With easy to find ingredients at your local grocer, nothing out of the ordinary is used.
- You can double these to make more to send with kids to school, or just to have on hand at home.
- They have a great chewy and crunchy flavor that plays well together.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Mini marshmallows
Rice krispies
Salted butter
Sweetened condensed milk
Caramels,
Vanilla
Cocoa powder
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE STAR CRUNCH, STEP BY STEP:
- Melt the butter and cocoa powder together in a large pan over low heat.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix together until fully combined.
- Add the caramels and mix until melted and combined, the mixture may look slightly broken at first but it will smooth out.
- Lastly add the vanilla and marshmallows and mix until melted and combined.
- Remove from heat and quickly stir in the cereal.
- Using a large cookie scoop, drop scoops onto greased parchment or wax paper.
- Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
This is pretty much like making Rice Krispie Treats but you are adding a few more fun ingredients and then making them into circles, so it really is an easy and tasty recipe.
CAN I DOUBLE THE BATCH?
Absolutely, you can make as much of this Star Crunch Recipe as you’d like. They store really well so you can have some on hand at all times and you won’t ever have to be looking to make more.
CAN I USE COCOA KRISPIES?
If you are really looking for a super chocolate flavor you can substitute the normal Rice Krispies and use Cocoa Krispies instead. We have done this and they are just as amazing tasting!
HOW TO STORE:
These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or ziptop bag for up to 1 week. They can also be refrigerated which will make the last up to 2-3 weeks.
These can also be frozen, what we like to do is wrap each in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Place in the freezer and they will keep for up too 6 months, remove from freezer and defrost on countertop.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- If you prefer, you can omit the cocoa powder from the mixture then after the cookies have set you can dip them in melted chocolate.
- Use cocoa krispies for even more chocolate flavor.
- The bottoms are a little sticky, which is why I recommend lightly coating the parchment or wax paper. They will come off even if you donโt coat it, they just pull a little. Once they set the tops really arenโt sticky to the touch though.
- You can easily double this batch to make more to have for later.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
- We use Kraft Caramels for these but you can also use caramel bits as well if you don’t want to unwrap individual caramels.
If you want that nostalgic treat of your childhood (or even ones you eat today) then you have to make some of my Homemade Star Crunch! You won’t be able to get enough.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this HOMEMADE STAR CRUNCH or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Homemade Star Crunch
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups mini marshmallows about 1 10oz bag
- 5 cups rice Krispies
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 20 soft caramels I use Kraft
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Melt the butter and cocoa powder together in a large pan over low heat.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix together until fully combined.
- Add the caramels and mix until melted and combined, the mixture may look slightly broken at first but it will smooth out.
- Add the vanilla and marshmallows and mix until melted and combined.
- Remove from heat and quickly stir in the cereal.
- Using a large cookie scoop, drop scoops onto greased parchment or wax paper.
- Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Notes
- If you prefer, you can omit the cocoa powder from the mixture then after the cookies have set you can dip them in melted chocolate.ย
- Use cocoa krispies for even more chocolate flavor.
- The bottoms are a little sticky, which is why I recommend lightly coating the parchment or wax paper. They will come off even if you donโt coat it, they just pull a little. Once they set the tops really arenโt sticky to the touch though.
- You can easily double this batch to make more to have for later.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
- We use Kraft Caramels for these but you can also use caramel bits as well if you don't want to unwrap individual caramels.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Sabrina Riggins
Great tasting and easy cookies! Definitely recommend. Small tip: if you use Kraft caramel bits only use around two cups. I added way too much to mine (an 11 oz bag) and they set a little more gooey than expected. Really good flavor though!
Kathy
Can you put this in a 9×13 pan and cut them into squares instead?
Tornadough Alli
I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure there would be no issue.
Jackie
Do you use unsweetened of sweetened cocoa powder?
Tornadough Alli
unsweetened
Jay Lind
Ok so I tried this today and I used Cocoa rice Krispies. I followed the directions and almost everything is perfect. I am thinking I did something wrong because the batch did not firm up. I made these at 9am and left them to set out until 1030am. They are still very sticky and soft, I put them in the fridge for an hour or so and the are the same once back to room temp. The rice is still crunch like it should be. What did I do wrong?
Frances Jones
How many does this make?
Tornadough Alli
About 16-20 depending on how large you scoop them.
Christina
My husband loves Star Crunch cookies and I have never tried one. I decided to surprise him with these. Ohmygoodness! These were absolutely delicious, and addictive. They didn’t even last 24 hours at my house. My husband has been begging me to make some more (and I secretly have been daydreaming about eating more, lol), so tonight our house will be filled with happiness because of these cookies. This recipe will definitely be a regular at our house. I followed the recipe to the tee. The only thing I had trouble with was getting the caramels to melt. So, tonight I will unwrap them and set them somewhere warm before cooking. Thank you for sharing.
Allison
Yummy! I was out of cocoa so I substituted powdered nesquick and they turned out great but not as much chocolate flavor.
Anne Winecke
If I omit the cocoa powder do I start the recipe at step 2 or do I add the condensed milk to the melted butter?
Tornadough Alli
You would melt the butter then add the sweetened condensed milk.
Lawren Maher
Awesome.
Kaitlin McGowan
Okay I just made these today and followed the recipe exactly except I could only find the caramel nibs (they were out of the individual caramels) so I kinda just dumped enough in to constitute for the 20 caramels. And omggggggg these are so delicious!!!! I used to love these snacks when I was a kid (I am 24 now) and my boyfriend convinced me to make them and it was sooooo worth it! Super yummy, crispy yet soft and ooey and gooey and just YUM!!!!! I did sprinkle just a little salt on top of them as they set just to give that salty/sweet. PERFECTION
Jimmie Gehring
I have I have unsalted butter. Can I just add a little salt about 1/4 tsp. Thank you
Tornadough Alli
Yes that will work!