Cheerio Chews

Oh, glorious November! The leaves have been stripped from the trees, it’s dark by 5pm and I’m in track pants thanks to the mini Coffee Crisps left over from Halloween. If there’s one bright spot in all this gloom and despair, it’s that November is also the month for church Christmas bazaars.

If you haven’t been to a church bazaar, I feel sorry for you because they’re great. A bazaar is like a garage sale, bakery, coffee shop, Danielle Steel paperback store and macramé convention all rolled into one. Every Saturday morning for the next few weeks, you’ll find me in a church basement, asking a senior woman wearing a beaded eyeglass string, “Do these knitted slippers come in monochromatic colours?” 

I guarantee you’ll find these delicious Cheerio Chews on a bazaar bake table, alongside chocolate haystacks, mini butter tarts and shortbread cookies with bits of maraschino cherries on top. And because these chews have Cheerios in them, they help fight cholesterol. So they’re healthy. And while we're on the subject of lies, Coffee Crisp prevents cancer.

½ package caramels (24)

2 tablespoons water

Melt in double boiler. Add ¼ cup peanut butter and stir until mixed together. Remove from heat and add 1 ½ cups Cheerios. Drop by teaspoon on waxed paper (See note 1). Put M&M candy in centre (See note 2).

Special thanks to master chefs, Adam and Justin, for helping me make these!

Note 1: These are pretty sticky, so there may be some pieces of waxed paper on the bottom. Don't worry about ingesting it. Waxed paper passes pretty easily. Trust me on this one.

Note 2: I didn't.

Source: Handwritten recipe card

This is my mother’s handwriting. Apparently, she thinks those little round things are called "cherrios."