When I was a kid, scotcheroos were a thing. Way bigger and cooler than the rice crispy treat. In my adult days, I tend not to indulge in such treats because of their effect on my waistline. With these bars I decided to make an exception. They are my adult version of scotcheroos. I made the ingredients a little more wholesome, and the process a little more simple.
In these peanut buttery delights, I choose to use cheerios because they are whole grain, and easy to find. Any toasted oat cereal will do. When it comes to my peanut butter, I’m a little picky. I always find a peanut butter with a single ingredient, peanuts. That’s all you need. Not all natural peanut butters are the same. Many brands come mixed with more shelf stable oils so that the oil doesn’t separate, causing you to have to stir the butter. If you’re up for a little stirring, I highly recommend the single ingredient peanut butter for all your peanut butter needs! Hint: if you can find peanut butter in the bulk section, it comes pre-stirred!
I used honey as my sweetener in these adult bars. Be aware, the honey does not hold these bars together like the corn syrup of our youth. Keeping them in the fridge helps them to stay together until you are ready to consume. Finally, I didn’t want to mess around with melting chocolate to poor over the top. Lazy I suppose, but now you have less dishes and one less step to worry about. Just mix in the chocolate chips right before you poor the bars into the pan for pressing. Enjoy!
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ cup peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
- 3 cups toasted oat cereal, like cheerios
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- parchment paper, for pressing
- In a small pot over low heat, stir together honey and peanut butter until smooth, 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in cereal and mix until it is well coated.
- Grease a 9x9 inch pan. Set aside.
- Quickly mix chocolate chips into cereal mixture, and poor into prepared pan. Press into pan with the palm of your hands and a piece of parchment paper. The more tightly pressed, the better they stay together.
- Chill in the freezer or refrigerator until hard. Cut into 16 squares. Store in the fridge until ready to consume.
Recipe inspired by Ambitious Kitchen.
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