Graham Cracker Cereal Bars:
I stared at the last chocolate bunny in the house, wondering, what his fate would be. I decided that cereal bars were in our immediate future. We needed to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. So, something fast and easy was imperative. By immediate, I mean about 20 minutes, total. And I melted the bunny all over these bad boys. Thanks for the sacrifice, bunny. We greatly appreciate it.
Now, I’m pretty sure that these qualify as anything from breakfast to dessert. They’re an all in one snack, breakfast and dessert bar. Use and vary as you see fit, please. I make these free-form on a parchment lined baking sheet because I find it’s the easiest to clean up. If you want to use a baking dish and butter it and cut the parchment, that’s fine. But, this is just a fast fix for us before we’re out the door. So, that’s why I go with the free-form technique. If you’re concerned about the bars sticking, you can spray the parchment, but I’ve never had any trouble with the bars sticking before.
One basic recipe. Infinite possibilities. Best enjoyed outside on a spring or summer day.
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup (or honey)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- pinch cinnamon
- 20 graham crackers, (5 sheets) crumbled
- 1 cup flour
- 3 cups cereal (I used 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of oat cereal )
- 1 cup miscellaneous (Use any combination of the optional additions, below, equalling one cup)
slivered, almonds, toasted*
granola*
flaked coconut*
peanut butter, nutella, almond butter, etc (other nut butter).*
peanuts*
dried fruit of choice*
chocolate chips*
Garnish: *melted chocolate of choice ( in double boiler or microwave) and additional almonds for topping*
* = optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour, graham crackers and cereal(s) in large bowl. Set aside.
Melt in saucepan over medium heat, butter with brown sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon and maple syrup (substitute syrups with honey, if you prefer). Stir. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Pour butter-sugar mixture over flour-cereal mixture. Mix and fold very well until everything is evenly coated. Pour onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat down to desired thickness, creating a free-form square on the parchment. Fold parchment over the edges of the free form square to created tightly packed, smooth edges.
Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.
(Optional ) Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave and pour over cooled granola bars. Let chocolate set and enjoy.
This is weird, but if I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, it would probably be graham crackers. I’m making these. And I’m not even going to pretend they’re for the kids. They’re for me! Yum!!
Kate, do you add the cinnamon and the extra add ons in with the flour, graham cracker ingredients? Realized when I got to mix everything together at the end there was nothing written about when to add those so I just tossed it in at the end
They are yummy!
Oh goodness me. I’m terrible at proofreading lately. lol. sorry. I’ll blame the sleeplessness. Actually…I added it in with the syrup in the beginning. But, either way should do it. Thanks for the heads up! Edited Above.
Excellent use of the final bunny. What a cute picture!
I love the versatility of this recipe!
A dark end for the bunny, but tasty indeed! Love the photograph, by the way, a perfect child’s clench around that yummy bar. Happy Mother’s Day!
I have a few big cookies and cream Easter bunnies in my cupboard. Would those work in this recipe?
I don’t see why not. Sure! Chop them into pieces and add one cup as if you were adding chocolate chips.
They sound delicious, btw. Cookies and cream. Yum!
This is a great idea – thanks for the recipe! I think in the back of the cupboard we still have a chocolate bunny from last year that needs to be tossed. This would be much better use of the one from this year. Why do they sell those, anyway?
LOL! Those are the biggest cereal bars I have ever seen!!
Great recipe!
Charlie
He’s faster than he looks. He might have just learned to walk, but he’s like a ninja when it comes to these bars. I figured I’d snap a picture. Cuter than a plate, for sure.
There are chocolate bunny remnants that have a questionable fate, as well. I love your idea! This is great!!
Thank you!
Not only is this recipe useful for using up the easter chocolate, it would practically get rid of all the leftover of cereals sitting in boxes. This is great for clearing up the cupboard.
You figured me out!
Thanks for stopping by!
The evil chocolate bunny didn’t stand a chance!
muauahahah!
Thanks Katrina! Fantastic Guest Post, on Chef Dennis’s blog, btw!