Popcorn Toffee Crack Bars

My niece and her bf are driving to NC with their 2 dogs and all their stuff - I'm sad about that but excited for her new adventure and phase of life. So to send them off I wanted to make them a treat for the long drive - saw this recipe here on the bon appetit website and thought it'd be fun to make for them. My niece used to be a very very picky eater - we took her to lunch when she was little and she ordered a tuna sandwich without lettuce, "just plain tuna"; when it was brought out to her it had sprouts on it and she wailed "there are WEEDS on my sandwich". Haha, now the kid loves vegetables (even brussels sprouts, yuck) and normally they eat super healthy but I know from experience that once you get in the car the munchies hit so hopefully they'll like this very "unhealthy" treat LOL. I don't like to use negative words like unhealthy when describing food - but this one recipe calls for 3 sticks of butter! If you can think of a better word than "unhealthy" haha please tell me.

It's very easy and quick to make, I followed the recipe exactly other than I don't have aleppo pepper so left that out. I'm not sure what that would add or if it's necessary cuz this is really good without it. I also thought about adding white chocolate chips with the semisweet but didn't have any on hand - and it doesn't need it, there's plenty going on...graham crackers, popcorn, peanuts, puffed rice cereal and chocolate chips. Yum.

The recipe was only given 3 out of 5 stars so I almost didn't make it, but after reading the reviews I found that the reason it was being knocked down wasn't because of the taste but that it has the word "crack" in the title! One person actually asked if there is crack in the recipe. Others thought you shouldn't use drug words to describe food and that "crack" is actually a bad thing so why is this called "crack bars" hahahaha, good grief people. Lighten up. Whatever you want to call these they are really good and quite addictive! Click here for the recipe.

line a rimmed baking sheet with graham crackers

top with popcorn, peanuts and cereal, pour a boiled mixture of butter and sugar over top and bake.

I made Dave a little one without nuts so he could at least try it - he loves popcorn and chocolate.

after baking, while it's still hot, top with chocolate chips. let cool completely then break into pieces.