Buc-ee's Copycat Beaver Nuggets
Buc-ee’s is a huge Texas-based gas and convenience travel center famous for its Beaver Nuggets, and for good reason. These sweet and crunchy copycat treats are easy to make and resemble caramel corn but are made with Puffed Corn.
Equipment
- Large disposable aluminum roasting pan
Ingredients
- 10 ounces (2 5-ounce packages, 283 grams, 16 cups) Puffed Corn (plain or butter flavored)
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks, 6 ounces, 170 grams) unsalted butter (See Tip 1)
- 1 cup (7.5 ounces, 213 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (5.4 ounces, 160 ml) light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt (See Tip 2)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract - optional (See Tip 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Place the Puffed Corn into a large heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until the butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil, undisturbed and uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla extract and baking soda. (See Tip 4)
- Pour the caramel over the Corn puffs; stir to coat.
- Spread the mixture onto an ungreased, large, disposable aluminum roasting pan. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes, removing every 15 minutes to stir. (See Tips 5 and 6)
- Spread the mixture onto parchment paper to cool. It may seem sticky at first but will dry as it cools.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Yield: 16 to 17 cups.
Video
Tips/Notes
- If using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- The Puffed Corn that I used in this recipe was salted. If you use unsalted Puffed Corn, increase the amount of salt to 1 teaspoon.
- The original Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets taste almost like pancakes and syrup. If you prefer that flavor, add a teaspoon of maple syrup to the caramel. Otherwise, leave it out.
- Be careful when you stir the baking soda into the hot caramel. The caramel will bubble up and could burn you if you're not careful.
- I like using a large disposable aluminum roasting pan in this recipe so I don't have to worry about cleaning up the baked-on caramel. I just throw the pan away!
- Don't worry if the Puffed Corn isn't totally covered with the caramel initially. As it bakes in the oven, the caramel remains liquidy and is easily stirred to help coat the Puffed Corn during the 15-minute increments.
Nutrition
Calories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 77mgPotassium: 40mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 150IUCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.3mg
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