Cheerios Bars

March 7: National Cereal Day

For a Glee-themed get-together at Islander’s brother’s university, we brought over Cheerios bars to represent the popular television show’s cheerleaders who are nicknamed “Cheerios.” These cereal-based snacks are packed with peanuts and peanut butter for protein and are sweetened with honey, sugar and chocolate for an energy boost. The college kids said they even like to eat these Cheerios bars for a quick breakfast as they dash off to their morning classes. And “Gleeks” like to munch on them while watching the show. Make Cheerios bars for an easy snack, for a Glee-themed get-together or for National Cereal Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

• 3 cups Cheerios cereal
• ½ cup peanuts
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon butter (for greasing a 9×9-inch pan)

Directions

Grease a 9×9-inch pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cereal with peanuts and chocolate chips.

In a saucepan, heat the honey with the sugar until dissolved. Remove from the stove top and mix in the peanut butter until smooth.

Pour into the cereal mixture. Combine all ingredients well, allowing the melted chocolate to coat everything. Place into the greased pan, pressing down evenly. Let cool before slicing into bars or squares.

Notes

• Cheerios (originally named “Cheeri-Oats”) debuted in 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal in America. There are a variety of flavors currently on the market. Try any of one of them instead of the original flavor for the recipe above to create different taste combinations.