I still remember my first time buying a puffed wheat square from the school vending machine. What looked like a delicious, chocolaty cereal square was in reality a tasteless, over-sweet mush. In addition, after reading the ingredients label, I discovered that there were some 20+ ingredients in the list. Disgusted, I decided to make my own instead and as it turns out, puffed wheat squares are honestly the easiest thing in the world to make – and they only require 7 ingredients.
Puffed Wheat Squares
Ingredients:
– 1/3 cup of butter or margarine (I used margarine because I don’t have any butter in my house right now)
– 1/3 cup of honey or corn syrup (I used honey)
– 3 tbsp of cocoa or peanut butter (as you can see, I opted for peanut butter)
– 3/4 cup of brown sugar
– dash of salt
– splash of vanilla
– 8 cups of puffed wheat
Step 1. Gather all ingredients. Please note that the puffed wheat used in the recipe is not the sugary cereal kind of puffed wheat – it is plain and unflavoured, usually sold in the baking needs aisle of your supermarket of choice.
Step 2. Measure out the puffed wheat into a separate bowl. Then, throw all the other ingredients into a pot. While you measure everything else, I recommend turning the stove onto the lowest heat setting so that the ingredients can get a head start on melting.
Step 3. Once everything is in the pot, turn the stove onto a medium-high heat and bring the ingredients to a boil. Once they start boiling, keep boiling for 2-3 minutes, stirring to make sure that they don’t burn.
Step 4. Immediately, while the mixture is still boiling, pour it into the bowl containing the puffed wheat cereal. Stir to make sure the mixture is evenly coated, and transfer into a 8 x 11 inch or 9 x 13 inch pan.
Step 5. Using all your strength, push the cereal down until it’s flattened against the bottom and sides of the pan. And when I say “using all your strength,” I mean it. Especially if you use peanut butter, it’s harder for the cereal to stick. Cover it with a plastic wrap and step on it if you have to.
Step 6. Cool and cut.
Enjoy!
I’ve been eating peanut butter puffed wheat cake for many years. Fortunately, my mother showed me how to make it. It’s very similar, biggest difference is that I use a half cup of peanut butter. Much more of a peanutty taste as you can imagine.