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What are caramel bugles, you ask? It’s America’s #1 finger hat coated in a simple caramel and once you start, you can’t stop! I mean literally CANNOT stop! Consider yourself warned!
Meet Kerri
We have a little team over here that helps to run oh sweet basil, but our longest standing employee happens to be one of my best friends. In fact, her and her husband are our dear, dear friends and I just hate that you all don’t know her. We are practically the same person, but her and her husband far outshine me in the kitchen. Just wait until we share their FAMOUS, CAN’T STOP EATING THEM gingerbread men. They are 100% different than any gingerbread man you’ve ever eaten and they are my absolute favorite Christmas cookies. But for today, a little snack mix I showed on instagram that you all have been begging me for the recipe.
Bugles
I had the giant Costco bag of bugles in my pool wagon this summer because my kids think the minute we get to the pool, they need 931 snacks. A friend at the pool asked if I had ever had caramel bugles. I was so intrigued! It sounded right up my sweet and salty lovin’ alley!
She sent me the recipe and I planned on making it a few weeks later for our family reunion. I made it the day before we left amidst all the packing and madness that surrounds preparing the whole family for going out of town. While it cooled on the counter, I couldn’t keep my hands out of it. I had to hide it from myself in the laundry room.
It was bad! There was about to be no more to take to the reunion!
Long story short, it was a huge hit at the reunion and totally gone by the end of the day 2. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty with the crunchiness you crave in a snack recipe.
Who is Kerri?
It’s me! Ok, we’ve never met, but you know me without knowing you know me. Did you follow me there? I have worked for Cade and Carrian for over 4 years and write quite a few of the posts here in the voice of Carrian. We are soul sisters and we have the same brain.
It’s actually freaky sometimes the little things we have in common. I love working at Oh Sweet Basil and strive my best to lighten Carrian’s load and help with the blog in any way I can. It’s a dream job and allows me to be at home with my kiddos. I get to see, write about, and think about delicious recipes every single day. And getting to work with Carrian is a true blessing in my life. She and Cade and their family are the best of the best!
So I’ll be writing this post today as me and I’m thrilled to share this caramel bugles recipe with you all! Stay tuned for more of my favorite recipes coming in the next few months…like our gingerbread boys!! They will change your life!
Ingredients for Homemade Caramel Bugles
You only need 5 ingredients for this recipe and you’ll probably have 4 of the 5 at home already. Grab a couple of bags of Bugles and you’ll be on your way to a “snaccident” of epic proportions!
- Butter (lotsa buttah!!)
- Sugar
- Salt
- Water
- Bugles
The measurements for each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Homemade Caramel Bugles
The first step of this recipe is to make the caramel. Then you pour it over the Bugles and then let it cool. The caramel hardens slightly and creates almost a candied Bugle. Oh my heck I’m starting to drool just thinking about it!
- Add all the ingredients for the caramel to a pot over medium heat and stir it together until everything melts and combines.
- Using a candy thermometer, let it cook until it hits 240 (or a soft ball) degrees stirring occasionally.
- While the caramel is cooking, butter or spray a large bowl and add your Bugles.
- Pour the caramel over the Bugles and stir until the Bugles are well coated.
- Spread the Bugles out on sheets of wax paper to cool.
These instructions can also be found in the recipe card below. You can save or print the recipe from there as well.
Tools You Will Need
- Candy Thermometer
- Wax Paper
- Big Mixing Bowl
How to Store Caramel Bugles
I like to throw all the Bugles in a giant 2 gallon ziploc bag. Have you seen those? There are my new favorite find! Sometime they are hard to track down, but look by all the other ziplocs. I’ve always found them either way up on the top shelf or down at the very bottom.
Think caramel popcorn with Bugles instead of popcorn! It’s just as addicting and a perfect grab-by-the-handful snack. If you’re a sweet and salty lover like me, then you HAVE to give this one a try!
More Addicting Snack Recipes
Kerri’s Easy Homemade Caramel Bugles
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Butter, (4 sticks is 1 pound) plus more for the bowl
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Water
- 2 Bags Bugles, 7.5 oz bags
Instructions
- In a pot over medium heat, add the butter, sugar, salt and water. Stir together and then heat without stirring to 240 degrees (or a soft ball) using a candy thermometer.1 Pound Butter, 2 Cups Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon Salt, 6 Tablespoons Water
- Butter a very large bowl and add two bags of bugles.2 Bags Bugles
- Pour the sugar mixture over the bugles and stir everything together. Spread out on wax paper to cool
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Waaaayyyy too much sauce. I followed directions to the tee. So soupy! I’m going to be bummed if this sauce doesn’t harden up!!
Hi Laurie! If it was cooked to the right temperature, it should harden up perfectly. You can always add more Bugles too if you want them less coated.
I’m wondering could you do add-ins with this recipe? I would like to add toasted pecans and mini chocolate m&m’s!
Absolutely! That would taste great!
ARE you even KIDDING ME??? A pound of butter, salt, sugar, BUGLES to make the EPIC CARAMEL BUGLES???? I love you, Oh Sweet Basil! I fell in love with these Bugles JUST yesterday….I’m slow, I guess, to snacks of the GODS, and I don’t want to spend $35 for a BAG! NO JOKE. Finding your recipe is magic. I am going to make this recipe this weekend, to test out. This might replace the Chex Mix Christmas Mix everyone has to make. If there’s any extra melted butter on my tray or bowl, I will do what normal people do with extra melted butter and add it to my popcorn. Then again, is there EVER any true leftover puddles of butter when you make things correctly? No. I think not.
PS. – This was obviously served at the Last Supper, and Jesus drank the extra butter in a chalice.
Michelle!! You are my favorite person! Thank you so much! The Last Supper…hahaha…I’m dying laughing! Pretty sure you’re right!
Something looks off with the ratio of butter to Bugles. Is 4 sticks of butter actually correct? Not sure I want to try this one…
Hi Jay! Yes, the ratio is correct. It’s basically like caramel popcorn but with bugles. If you feel like the ratio is off, you can definitely increase or decrease the amount of bugles you use.
I followed the recipe exactly. While theses are definitely delicious and addictive, when I poured the caramel sauce over the bugles and stirred it up, I was left with a puddle of butter in the bowl. When I poured out onto wax paper to cool it left a puddle of butter/oil when cooled. Any advice on what I did wrong?
Hi Elaine! It sounds like something definitely went wrong with caramel. If the heat is too high, but butter might melt too quickly and can separate from the sugar. The butter and sugar mixture should be quite thick when you pour it on the bugles, like a thick syrup. I’m so sorry for the frustration!
This was a good recipe minus half of the butter, it was way too much butter, if you make these use half the amount of butter it calls for.
Thanks for the feedback Isaac! I wouldn’t mess with the fat to sugar ratio on this one. I just won’t think it would set up the same. But you can give it a shot for sure! You could also use more Bugles so that your caramel coating is thinner.
1 pound of butter😳. Are you kidding me???? On top of bugels already full of fat and calories?!?!
Yup! And they are so tasty! A splurge every now and then! I definitely wouldn’t recommend making it a regular part of your diet, but sharing it with a big group of friends spreads the love and the calories!
Delicious recipe!! I’m a butter lover & these are fabulous!!
Hi Hailey! Aren’t they dreamy?? I can’t stop once I start eating them!
There’s always one. *eyeroll Why do you bother with comments like these?
Thanks for the support Molly! Usually if someone takes time to leave a comment, I feel like it is only fair to take time to respond.