Homemade Little Debbie Star Crunch — These treats are very dense, extra chewy, the flavor is caramely and rich, and the milk chocolate coating makes them taste just like a Star Crunch! No-bake, fast, and so authentic!!
Better-Than-Little-Debbie Star Crunch
I’m a Little Debbie freak. There’s not one version or variety that I don’t love.
These copycat Little Debbie Star Crunch are everything I hoped to achieve. The flavor is right on with the buttery caramel, crispy rice cereal, and milk chocolate.
They’re incredibly dense and chewy. They remind me of my favorite Rice Krispies Treats, which are dense, thick, chewy, and not at all airy or loose.
But the Star Crunch have caramel and Rice Krispies Treats don’t, and I do love caramel.
What Is Star Crunch?
If you’ve never had a Star Crunch, you’ve been missing out. Trying to describe Star Crunch for someone who’s never had them is hard.
Their site describes them as, “A chewy cookie topped with caramel and crisp rice then covered in a layer of fudge.” Yes, but that sounds a bit underwhelming.
I would describe them as what you’d get if you made Rice Krispies Treats with caramel rather than marshmallows, and packed it extremely tight so that the density level is off the charts.
In many ways, the flavors remind me of a 100 Grand Bar. Crispy rice, caramel gooeyness, and milk chocolate. I love 100 Grand Bars, too. At least I’m consistent in my preferences!
Ingredients for Homemade Star Crunch
For this DIY Star Crunch recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Kraft caramel bits
- Unsalted butter
- Mini marshmallows
- Rice Krispies cereal
- Milk chocolate
- Vegetable shortening
Tip
Store-bought Star Crunch don’t have marshmallows in them, but adding them was the only way I could achieve enough fluff and lightness without making the treats airy or dry. They also add proper density and chewiness.
The finished treats don’t read of marshmallows at all. There’s not enough quantity used and they’re a behind-the-scenes workhorse to help create all the texture qualities I was looking, minus imparting any real flavor.
How to Make Star Crunch
I am so pleased with how the homemade Star Crunch recipe turned out! They’re remarkably similar to the real thing and no-bake.
I’ll warn you that it’s lots of microwaving in short bursts, stirring, reheating, stirring, repeating, but you can handle that.
- Begin by melting one eleven-ounce bag of Kraft Caramel Bits. Heat in short bursts so you don’t scorch the caramels, stirring and mashing them after each burst.
- To the soft caramels, add the butter, heat for a minute to melt the butter, and stir to incorporate.
- Add mini marshmallows and heat to melt them. As they’re heated, they’ll puff and swell rather than turn into a runny liquid, but finally they’ll become soft enough to smash down into something that’s on the runnier side.
- Add the Rice Krispies cereal, and stir to combine.
- Spray your hands with cooking spray and reach into the mixing bowl and form 11 equal-sized patties.
- Place the discs on a baking tray or large plate and allow them to cool and set up for at least 2 hours, or overnight, before dipping them in chocolate.
Tip
The first three ingredients (butter, caramels, marshmallows) won’t appear to want to melt or combine and you’ll be cursing me — but just trust in the process and do your best to melt and combine ingredients. The recipe WILL work!
Recipe FAQs
I used Kraft caramel bits because I didn’t want to unwrap 11 ounces of caramels one by one — the Bits because they’re a huge time saver!
If your only option is to unwrap a bag of caramels, have fun.
Do NOT use caramel ice cream sauce, caramel topping, or anything that’s already in liquid form because it’s too thin and runny and won’t give authentic density in the finished bars.
I don’t know if you could make the Star Crunch on the stove top and prefer the microwave whenever possible. However, if you don’t have a microwave try melting everything on the stove and see how it turns out!
Milk chocolate is the way to go for authenticity and I used one bag of milk chocolate chips, 12 ounces.
I strongly recommend adding a tablespoon or two of vegetable shortening (Crisco) when melting the chocolate. It does wonders for helping the chocolate stay smoother and makes dipping much, much easier.
You don’t have to go out and buy shortening for this, and in general, I don’t like shortening. I always swap butter for shortening, even in recipes where it says to use shortening, but for dipping projects shortening is a huge help.
I also recommend not melting all of the chocolate in one go. I heated half in the microwave with shortening, dipped half the discs; then finished the project by heating the remaining half. When working with melted chocolate and dipping projects, working in smaller batches proves easier so the chocolate doesn’t start setting up and getting gloppy and hard to work with.
Dip the discs, one by one, into the chocolate bath. I balance them with two forks, so the excess chocolate can drain off through the fork tines. Let the chocolate drain off well over the bowl before placing the disc on a parchment-lined baking sheet or large tray, otherwise you’ll waste lots of chocolate to the parchment paper.
The beauty of shortening while dipping is that it keeps the chocolate looser and resistant to setting up.
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Homemade Little Debbie Star Crunch
Ingredients
- one 11-ounce bag Kraft Caramel Bits or 11 ounces caramels
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, half of one stick
- 2 cups mini-marshmallows, half of one standard 10-ounce bag
- 4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- one 12-ounce bag, 2 cups milk chocolate chips, melted for dipping
- 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, optional but highly recommended
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the caramel bits and microwave on high power to soften and melt, about 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to check and stir. The caramels don't melt into a smooth, thin sauce like caramel ice cream sauce; instead they're the consistency of natural peanut butter that's a bit loose and oily. As long as they're softened and somewhat melted, that's fine.
- Add the butter to the caramels, and heat on high power to melt the butter, about 1 minute. Stir the butter and caramel together to combine; the butter will pool and may be difficult to incorporate and it's okay if there's some pooling.
- Add the marshmallows and heat to melt them, about 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to check and stir to combine. Marshmallows will swell and puff and after about 2 minutes of intermittent heating, they should be sufficiently soft enough to stir into the butter-caramel mixture. Quickly and briefly fold to combine.
- While the mixture is still nice and hot, add the cereal and stir to combine, mixture will cool down and firm up quickly.
- Spray your hands with cooking spray or grease them with butter and form 3-inch diameter discs that are about 1-inch tall (I made 11). The batter will be warm but cool enough to handle easily; if yours is too warm, wait until it cools sufficiently to handle it to shape the discs.
- Place discs on prepared baking sheet sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and allow them to firm up for at least 2 hours, or overnight, before dipping them in chocolate.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and shortening (helps chocolate stay much smoother and for a longer period and highly recommend), and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute. Heat in 15-second bursts, stopping to check and stir after each, until chocolate can be stirred smooth. Note – I find it easier and more convenient to melt half chocolate and shortening now, and after it's been used, heat the remainder; that way chocolate stays warm, smooth, and easier to work with.
- Dip discs into chocolate one by one, and let chocolate drain off over the bowl, before returning coated discs to a parchment-lined tray. I find it easiest to balance the discs with two forks, that way the chocolate can drain off through the tines.
- Allow treats to set up and cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (the shortening will be resistant to setting up at room temperature).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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No-Bake Peanut Butter Special K Bars — These fast, easy, no-bake bars are a hybrid of some of my favorite bars, which include peanut butter, marshmallows, cereal and are held together with a brown sugar-caramel sauce that’s made in the microwave in 1 bowl.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chex Bars — SO EASY, NO-BAKE, and ready in FIVE minutes!! Chex cereal, pretzels, and M&Ms glued together with peanut butter and marshmallows!! An IRRESISTIBLE salty-sweet combination!!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Kit Kat Crunch Bars – Easy, no-bake recipe that’s full of peanut butter and topped with chocolate and Kit Kat Bars!
No-Bake White Chocolate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars – EASY, no-bake bars that are soft, chewy, supremely GOOEY, spiked with extra marshmallows, and white chocolate!! An IRRESISTIBLE hit with everyone!!
I followed the recipe exactly and they did not turn out like star crunch. Part of what makes star crunch so good is the chewy texture and these were too hard to be similar and they didn’t really taste like star crunch. They were good just not star crunch good. :(
Because all microwaves (and ingredients) vary so much in the way their heat and output levels, I’m thinking you cooked just a bit too long if yours were too hard and not chewy. Mine definitely come out with the same texture as a Star Crunch and I recommend a bit less time in the micro if you try again. Glad you enjoyed them and thought they were still good.
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I have been wanting to make homemade starcrunch for quite some time. Several years ago, I tried to make some but they did not turn out. I had made them in a pan like bars instead of cookies. The reason they flopped was because my older sister was helping me and she didn’t know that she needed to add something to the melted caramels in order to keep them soft. So, they turned out ROCK hard. They were good, but barely edible. Today, I decided I want to try and make them again. So, I looked up a recipe for them, to see if there was anything special you had to do. However, in every recipe I’ve seen, there’s something missing. Maybe you mentioned it and I just missed it. But, all the store bought starcrunch that I’ve had has a thin brownie in the middle if it! Did you exclude that on purpose and I just missed why? I think I am going to make some without a recipe and I’ll post the results on Instagram @roseonajourney later today. I don’t have caramels on hand, so I will definitely consider using your caramel recipe! Thank you!
Did you exclude that on purpose and I just missed why? — I didn’t include it because it was an extra step and in the effort to keep these no-bake and easier for the avg person, I omitted it.
I’m a teenager and just made these beauties and I’m very impressed with the closeness of the recipe! I think to overcome the “blondeness” of the inside and extra thick coating of chocolate on the outside, you could try mixing in the melted chips with the caramel before the cereal! That way they’d look like a star crunch on the inside and you could see pieces of rice sticking out of the outside like a true star crunch!
Thanks for trying these, Zach! I am so impressed that you’re a teenage male AND you’re baking! That is so awesome!
Glad you enjoyed these and appreciate how close they are to the real deal. Great call on how you disguised the blonde-ness. I also think using Cocoa Krispies rather than regular would probably help. Next time I make these, I’m going to try that. Or maybe a dusting of cocoa powder to the filling mixture, just to tint it a bit.
I’m a creative mind. Food just happens to be one of those outlets. I don’t believe the culinary arts only apply to females :) Thanks for your recipe and response!
Reading the ingredients for a star crunch it has oatmeal and raisins or raisin paste in the filling. Your recipe sounds really yummy too. It kinda makes me wanna play in the kitchen
I can’t wait to make these. I have a thought for the darker color maybe try the cocoa rice crispies instead of the regular.
Cocoa Krispies would be the ticket here!
I just happened upon these, Averie. I guess I missed them the first time around. Love this idea! I’m looking forward to trying out this recipe. Happy new year!
Thanks, Jennifer! I love all your recipes and am always seeing your stuff all over Pinterest! :)
This just kind of makes me smile – How can you not though thinking back to eating those as a kid!
Thank you for this recipe! I love Little Debbie Star Crunch, but have a nut allergic child so I haven’t been able to share the goodness with my children. With this recipe, I should be able to make the closest thing possible to them that will be safe to share with my children
Wonderful – enjoy!
Looks good!! But what about the cookie in the middle of the star crunch?? :/ I will definitely have to try this out :)
If you come up with something, LMK!
Hi Averie,
If you will omit about a Tablesponn of melted caramels, and substitute it with a Tablespoon of mild Baking Molasses, that will give you the “flavor ” and darker colour in the crunchy middle.
That’s what I do, and the flavor of Little Debbie Star Crunch is then EXACT.. Try it, let me know.. Blessings, Mary C.
Interesting idea! Thanks for the tip!
Oh My. I was raised on Little Debbie in my lunchbox (oatmeal sandwiches or swiss rolls) and lived on these and Nutty Bars in college (Nutty bars were like $0.25 a package in the campus store) and felt guilty every time I looked at the ingredients – awesome to have a better option! If you’ve lived in an area that has Drake’s – I also highly recommend Funny Bones – I bet they’d be super easy to copycat, and now I think I have a mission for my next baking day (they’re chocolate Twinkies with creamy peanut butter filling, dipped in chocolate).
Wow, your baking project sounds delicious! Wish I was having that :)