Name: Crispy Peanut Butter Snack Cake With Cereal, Puffed Rice, Pretzels, and Potato Chips
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 12–16
Ingredients: Nonstick vegetable oil spray; 1 1/2 cups creamy, no-stir peanut butter; 1/2 cup honey; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warmed virgin coconut oil, divided; 5 cups crispy rice cereal; 2 cups Chex cereal; 1 1/2 cups salted mini pretzels, lightly crushed; 1 cup potato chips, lightly crushed; 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts; 6 ounces dark chocolate; An 8-cup Bundt pan

Active Time
15 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes

This salty-sweet “snack cake” has a simple honey-peanut butter base (no added sugar needed), plus all your favorite snacks: crunchy cereal, crispy puffed rice, and salty peanuts, pretzels, and potato chips. Finish it with a dramatic drizzle of dark chocolate and cut into chunks for an after-school treat or larger slices for dessert.

Ingredients

Serves 12–16

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups creamy, no-stir peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warmed virgin coconut oil, divided

5 cups crispy rice cereal

2 cups Chex cereal

1 1/2 cups salted mini pretzels, lightly crushed

1 cup potato chips, lightly crushed

1 cup roasted, salted peanuts

6 ounces dark chocolate

Special Equipment

An 8-cup Bundt pan

Step 1
Line Bundt pan with plastic wrap, leaving a few inches of overhang; coat with nonstick spray.
Step 2
Whisk peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut oil in a large bowl until combined. Using a spatula, gently fold in cereals, pretzels, potato chips, and peanuts. Transfer mixture to prepared pan, spreading evenly and pressing firmly into pan. Chill until cake is set, at least 1 hour.
Step 3
When ready to serve, melt chocolate and remaining 2 Tbsp. coconut oil in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, or melt in a microwave in short bursts, stirring between bursts, until chocolate is smooth.
Step 4
Using plastic overhang, lift cake from pan, then invert onto a platter. Drizzle cooled cake with melted chocolate, then chill to set before serving, about 10 minutes.
Do Ahead
Step 5
Cake can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap in plastic and chill.

Leave a Review

Reviews (9)

We simply loved it. Perfect, easy and delicious!
- mariabetania
- Grospierres, France
- 1/10/2017
I've been making this snack for years but my version is the Eagles brand fudge version: 1 can sweetened condensed milk, semisweet chocolate chips, Reeses chips, (all melted) then add- multi colored medium marshmallows, 6 oz. walnuts, 1 med bag Chex snack mix, (we like savory cheddar or the original) handful fruit loops or fave kids cereal, spoon in to muffin cups for portion control and BAM! No pressing, but I do refrigerate it, it's chocolate....and gooey deliciousness!
- nurscandyd
- Va Beach
- 7/24/2016
Seriously, people. The purpose of a rating is to give other cooks a heads up about how the finished product tastes and how well a recipe works. It is NOT a soap-box for those with militant dietary opinions who have not made the recipe nor have any intention of ever making the recipe. Please choose another recipe and keep your unhelpful comments to yourself. This is a great recipe for what it is - a sweet/salty/crunchy treat that is easy to throw together and kids love. I took the suggestion below to reduce the quantity of dry ingredients and the "cake" held together perfectly. Very tasty.
- Anonymous
- 6/11/2016
Fail. I expected it to be like the peanut butter/honey rice krispy treats. Maybe try a fewer dry ingredients, press down in a 9x12 cake pan and spread chocolate over the entire top. I would also leave out the vanilla.
- mdgeorge08
- st louis mo
- 6/4/2016
I added one package of real bacon bits from Aldi, over the top delicious! You have to really compress to stick together, everything absorbs the liquid mixture so if your cereal is not the freshest or dryest does not stick very well. I live in a humid area, opened new box of rice cereal however my rice chex were a bit damp because of humidity and didn't stick the best to those.
- jrinamerica
- Ohio
- 6/2/2016
The best way to reduce the calories in this is to make it in mini muffin tins or drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet. This is my plan when I make it. Going mini allows you to enjoy all the rich tasty treats and half the calories at all the full fat, sugary, salty glory!! My ratings is based on ingredients and making mini treats instead.
- eliivey
- Atlanta, GA
- 6/1/2016
I made the recipe this weekend, and while everyone enjoyed it and appreciated the salty/sweet combo, I thought it was a bit of a fail. I followed the recipe and even refrigerated the snack cake overnight, but the thing would not hold together. It crumbled immediately after I cut into it. I took the dessert to a picnic so by the time we packed up to go home the snack cake in no way resembled a bundt cake, and the chocolate glaze had completely melted. It was a mess, a yummy but incredibly messy treat that required a spoon to eat it. I know that marshmallows were avoided in order reduce the sweetness, but the peanut butter/ honey/coconut combo is just as sweet as marshmallows, and the structure of this "cake" would be much better off with marshmallows. Because seriously when you add potato chips and pretzels to this concoction there is no need to choose "healthier" ingredients. With all of that peanut butter and coconut oil, the treat is incredibly rich and heavy, and did not really feel snacky. In the end I like the idea of this recipe, but will just use this as an idea to enhance regular Rice Krispie Treats.
- merebuff
- Lynnwood, WA
- 5/31/2016
It sounds delicious but by God, does anyone look at the nutritional values? Whoping SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY calories per a piece???!!!! Snack? Hardly! It is HALF the calorie allocation PER A DAY for those that watch their food intake!
- sonja66
- Houston, Tx
- 5/31/2016
What. Just. Happened...to my brain?! Sensory overload. Cannot wait for the right group activity to justify trying this. Will likely add some chocolate chips.
- sds01
- Nashville
- 5/29/2016