Kinnikinnck 'Graham' Crumb Help Needed

[The Edifying Conscience]

GF Granny(she would have a fit if I called her granny to her face hehe) has had a taste for 'Mounds' bars being the good granddaugher that I am I thought I would make some for tonight.

The pckg says to make a crust combine the crumbs with softened butter and chill. It doesn't say to cook them. Also if I chill them and then top it with the topping and bake I think it will be a mess.

I followed my instincts and made the crust like I normally would and it's a freakin disaster! So, has anyone ever used this product as a crust for something that has to be baked? If so, what did you do?

Thanks!

Edited for bad grammar and sloppy mistakes.

[aklap]

We haven't used that product [or at least I don't think we have]. What happened to the crust?
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Linda]

I imagine you use them as is w/o baking. They are already baked and processed into crumbs. We use homemade graham cracker crumbs all the time for no bake cheesecake. I should think if you baked them again they'd burn.
Perhaps these crumbs are to be used for items that aren't to be baked after turning into a crust. I guess the Mounds topping requires baking? Can you bake it and then somehow top the crumbs? Is it obvious I don't know what a Mounds bar is?
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Mom of Ty (he's eight) who was diagnosed by bloodwork June 2005, biopsy August 11, 2005, notified on & started GF August 18, 2005

[aklap]

TEC please explain exactly what the "disaster" was........I have several thoughts on it.

Peg

BTW my husband's memory is poor. We have used them several times-the time that comes to mind first is the year he paid $10 for overnight shipping so I could make his favorite peanut butter balls (buckeyes) for him.

2 bags of Kinnickkinnick grahm cracker crumbs: $8.00
Overnight shipping: $10.00
Favorite Peanut Butter Balls for Christmas: Priceless
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[mrsppmrxky]

I have a Mounds candy recipe I think, but it doesn't call from Graham Cracker crumbs. Mounds Candy is a coconut filling covered in chocolate.

I also have the 'Reese's Candy recipe" and it doesn't either.

SOrry that I am no help to you on this one!
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[mrsppmrxky]

Here are the 2 recipes that I mentioned that our family uses

Mound Candies
1 box of confectioner sugar
2 - 12 oz. pkgs. of coconut
1 can of condensed milk
1/2 cup of Crisco
1 tsp of vanilla
Mix all of the ingredients. Press in a 9 x 13 inch buttered pan. Pat really well and freeze. Cut the frozen mixture into strips. Dip the frozen coconut into 4 oz. of melted paraffin wax and 1 melted 12 oz. pkg. of semi-sweet chocolate chips. (if desired, you may place almonds or pecan halves on top of the coconut before dipping) Place on wax paper to dry.


Buckeyes *** (Reese's type candy
1 stick butter
2 cups peanut butter
1 box powdered sugar
3 cups GF rice krispie type cereal (I usually skip this one)

Chocolate mixture:
1 large pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 block paraffin wax

Mix butter, sugar, peanut butter, and rice krispies. Make into small balls. Dip in chocolate mixture. (use a double boiler) (rice krispies may be omitted also -reduce butter to 3 T) Let set on wax paper.
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[The Edifying Conscience]

Thanks everyone for your help! FWIW the Mounds bars I grew up eating and still love are very much like the recipe that Mrs. P posted. They have a graham cracker crust that's topped with a mixture of coconut and sweet condensed milk which is baked until it's slightly golden. It's all covered in a layer of chocolate. They're very rich, very simple and very good and always take me back to my childhood!

The disaster...I followed the measurements to make a 9" crust...crumbs(1 1/2 cups) butter (1/4 cup) and sugar (2T) and baked it at 350F instead of chilling. I first checked it at 15 minutes and it was gooey, buttery, bubbling mess. I checked it at 25 minutes and it was a browner, gooey, buttery, bubbling mess. At that point I pulled it from the oven and let it sit while I posted my SOS message to you all and processed my thoughts. After I posted, it looked and felt sort of like sludge. I decided I had nothing to lose by sticking it back in the oven so I cooked it for another 15 minutes at which point it started to look like a NGF graham crust. [While this was baking I made up a fruit salad that could be used for dessert if need be. ] I topped it with the coconut mixture and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes per the directions. While still hot, I sprinkled on some chocolate chips, spread them and crossed my fingers. Chocolate chips are a terrible thing to waste! I put the whole concoction in the freezer once it was cool to the touch hoping it would help the crust set.

I have to say that my disaster, turned out exceedingly well! The crumbs all stuck together and it had a good flavor. When cut the crust held it's shape and didn't really lose any crumbs. If one has 40 minutes plus other baking time, in my case 15 more minutes, then I think the Kinnikinnick crumbs are great. I'm not sure the crust would have stayed together had it baked less. In the future I will definitely cut down on the butter. I think it was just too much liquid for the amount of crumbs.

I had never heard of making a graham cracker crust by chilling, but like some of you, GF granny (hehe) and my mom both had. I think this would work fine for a no-bake dessert like Linda mentioned, but I can't imagine it working for a baked dessert.

Peg, I can see why your husband forgot about the graham cracker crumbs. $10 shipping on $8 worth of product ouch! But you're right, meeting the need of a craving and making Al happy is definitely priceless!

Thanks for you help, everyone!

[aklap]

Hi TEC,

Peg will respond later - she's on her way to bed right now.

Your experience is consistent with what happens to Carolyn's GC recipe that Peg made. We used them for cheesecake - and yes - it gets that way when baked. Our friend Cathy tried it and she said it turned into a hard plastic! We've never had that happen, but it transform into a weird texture.

We tried doing Smores with the homemade GC's. We wrapped them in tinfoil and put them on a grill. They get soft and melty. They tasted OK, but just didn't hold up very well in that manor. They are much better a frozen or unbaked state.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[The Edifying Conscience]

[aklap]

I'll ask her about the bake time, I don't think it was that long.

But yeah...sludge...that sounds about right. Peg's crust was not "plastic" like Cath's but it is....wet or "sweaty"...if that makes any sense.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[The Edifying Conscience]

[aklap]

TEC,
That's very interesting that continued baking made the crust better. Was it hard to cut and "taffy-like" or more crisp?

My thoughts on why our home made graham cracker crumbs do this is the high content of butter and sugar in them-when you get butter and sugar hot enough it turns to taffy, hotter still turns it to brittle (as in peanut brittle). I would think the same would be true of the kinnickkinnick brand.

The next time I make a crust I am going to have to try baking it longer to see what the results will be with them. I'll let you know.

Peg

Disclaimer: The above reference to making a crust does not mean cheesecake in the near future.....Yes Al-I'm talking to you!
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[The Edifying Conscience]

Peg,
Once cooked the crust was very compact or dense with the traditional graham cracker crumb...if that makes sense. It wasn't at all like taffy. I was really surprised at how easy it was to cut.

Your descriptions of brittle makes perfect sense! I only added a bit of sugar...maybe 2T and I'm not sure how much sugar was in the mix. I tasted the crumbs from the pckg and they didn't taste overly sweet to me. I wonder if your recipe has more sugar than the Kinnikinnick version.

Do attempt at overbaking next time and let me know what happens? The result I had could have been a fluke!
TEC

PS...LOVE the disclaimer!