Peanut butter cereal bars

I thought I would revisit a favorite this morning. It's on my to-make list today. A long-time favorite recipe that's been in my repertoire since sixth grade home economics class. It's a simple recipe, a great first recipe to make with your kids and has tons of flexibility for whatever you have on hand. And of course, it tastes really good.

The original recipe calls for corn flakes. And while they're really good, I rarely have that kind of cereal on hand. Multi-Grain Cheerios is more likely to be in my cupboards these days. So Cheerios it is, and yum. It's still good. 

The original recipe also calls for corn syrup. But I've also subsituted honey, when I didn't have the corn syrup on hand and that was great, too. However, it doesn't keep as well with honey. 

So if you're looking for a simple afterschool snack or easy dessert for your menu this week, I highly recommend this old classic. 

Peanut Butter Cereal Bars (aka O'Henry Bars):

 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

3 scant cups of cereal

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until smooth. Pour over cereal and stir to coat. Press bars into 8 x 8 baking dish. Cool and enjoy. 

Comments

[erin]

I'm going to have Kate make these tonight. Do you think honey nut Cheerios would be overkill? That's all I have on hand.
Thanks, Molly!

[mommycoddle]

I don't think it would be too much different than multi-grain. Maybe up the cereal a bit, just so it's not as peanut-buttery? I'll be curious to hear. xo

[Chris Cook]

What are the calories for these bars?

[Erin]

Oh my! I made these with chocolate Cheerios and they are addictive!

[Lisa Kirker]

So funny! My girls and I just made these (I printed out your original post), and I was snacking on one as I sat down to browse a few blogs and have some quiet time. Comfort snacks, must be in the air! :)

[Jeremy@techdealsmag]

This is a good idea. I don't usually have that brand of cereal in the cupboard so, I would use Sunshine Honey and nut cornflakes. Those are covered with peanut chunks and honey. I'm sure they would be delicious in the recipe.

It's a good snack idea and one that kids who can handle the stove can be supervised in making. It doesn't involve too many tools for cutting up stuff and most of the ingredients would be in the kitchen already.

I like the fact that we can substitute corn syrup for honey. Maybe they can be kept in the fridge to help them last longer.