For my son’s baseball-themed birthday party this weekend, I wanted to serve peanuts and cracker jack. I just thought it wouldn’t be much of a baseball party without them. We found the peanuts without a problem, but the cracker jack was another story. Have they stopped making Cracker Jack? We looked everywhere and couldn’t find any, not even the individual snack boxes.
Just as I was about to give up on the whole cracker jack notion, I remembered who I was dealing with. I get a kick out of making homemade versions of random things, right? So how hard could it be to whip up some homemade cracker jack?
Actually, it’s not hard at all. And it was really quite good, considering it was prize-less. Plus the best part is that there are actually peanuts in the homemade version – like at least a few for every handful.
Homemade Cracker Jack
- 10 c. popped popcorn (air-popped or stove-popped, not microwave)
- 1 -2 c. cocktail peanuts
- 1 c. butter
- 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 2 t. vanilla
1. Combine popcorn and peanuts in a large bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar together. Bring to a slow boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
3. Pour caramel sauce over popcorn and peanuts and toss to coat. Pour onto a cookie sheet or two and bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes, until dry.
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Oh my, look at all those peanuts!! I will definitely try this recipe, thank you! 🙂
That looks SO good! I’m definitely going to have to try this!
They still make Cracker Jacks… my dh came home with some just the other day to surprise our kids. Believe me, after having some of the “real stuff” recently, I’ll bet yours was MUCH better.
🙂 Going to make this for camping trip!
They have it at Sam’s Club. I don’t know if it’s seasonal or if they have it all the time, but I saw it pretty recently. In any case, I bet the homemade was far better!
I have found 4 pks of Cracker Jacks at the Dollar Tree store. 🙂
This homemade stuff though looks like more appetizing than Cracker Jacks out of a box. 😀
Hello! Is there a way to subscribe to your blog via e-mail? All I saw was via a reader. I just LOVE your blog and want to keep updated. Thank you!
That would be a great traveling snack for us! Thank you for sharing!!
Neat! I will have to try this…My dh loves cracker jack, but can no longer eat peanuts. Thanks!
What a really fun recipe. Wow. I haven’t had Cracker Jacks in years.
I just made some of these to take to a picnic. They smell great. BUT, do you really use 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter? I had to bake mine for over 40 minutes and it’s still not all dry. It taste a bit buttery.