Delicious Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars: An Easy Recipe for Cheerios Cereal Bars

If you’re looking for a quick and simple treat that satisfies your sweet tooth, these Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars are where ‘crunch’ meets ‘yum’ in one glorious bite. Combining the timeless crunchy texture of Cheerios, with creamy peanut butter and a handful of other ingredients, these bars are an instant remedy to the eternal “what to whip up for snack time” dilemma.

These Cheerios bars can be enjoyed as a snack, a dessert, or even a breakfast on-the-go option. Pairing them with a glass of cold milk for the kids or a cup of coffee for the adults is the best way to serve them.

Related: Baked Oatmeal Bars

If your kids are searching for a kitchen project, I highly recommend having them make these cereal bars for a guaranteed success. It’s almost impossible to mess them up.

Back-to-School Bliss: Embracing Convenience with Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars

As the academic year resumes and schedules become busier, these bars effortlessly tick all the boxes for a convenient and delicious snack option.

Time-Efficient Preparation: Back-to-school mornings can be chaotic, and these bars require minimal preparation and can be made in advance, ensuring you have a quick and satisfying snack available for those time-crunched mornings.

Energy Boost: The combination of Cheerios and peanut butter offers a blend of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. They are the perfect boost to get you to the next activity.

Portability: Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars are highly portable, making them an ideal on-the-go snack. Whether it’s a quick bite between classes or a boost during extracurricular activities, these bars fit perfectly in lunchboxes, backpacks, or pockets.

Homemade Goodness: Preparing these bars at home gives you control over the ingredients and allows you to avoid unnecessary additives or preservatives often found in store-bought alternatives.

Customization Options: While the classic recipe is already a winner, these can easily be customized by adding ingredients like chocolate chips, dried fruits, or even a drizzle of honey. This versatility allows you to tailor the bars to individual preferences.

Ingredients 

Essential Items for the Recipe

Here are the necessary ingredients for Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars:

• multi grain Cheerios cereal
• peanuts
• creamy peanut butter
• butter
• marshmallows
• vanilla extract

These ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery store and can be customized to meet any dietary needs or preferences.

Substitutions

If you have specific dietary restrictions or preferences, these Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars can easily be modified to accommodate your different needs. For those with peanut allergies, you can substitute almond butter or sunflower seed butter for peanut butter and leaves the crushed peanuts completely out or substitute them with a different nut. If you’re following a vegan diet, use vegan butter and vegan marshmallows.

Some additional details about these ingredients. Cheerios cereal, is made from whole grain oats and is known for its heart-healthy benefits. It is low in sugar and high in fiber, making it a nutritious addition to these bars. The smooth peanut butter adds the creamy and nutty flavor, which complements the crunchiness of the Cheerios. It also provides a good source of protein and healthy fats.

Marshmallows add sweetness to the bars, but also act as a binder, helping to hold everything together. If you prefer a different sweetener, such as maple syrup, honey or agave nectar, feel free to make that substitution by using it in half cup proportions.

For a touch of extra flavor, I always add vanilla extract to this recipe, it adds a warm and aromatic essence to the bars, while enhancing the overall taste and pairs well with the peanut butter.

Lastly, salted peanuts balance the sweetness from the marshmallows and enhance the flavors of all the other ingredients.

Any of these ingredients can be easily adjusted to suit your dietary needs or preferences. Whether you’re looking for a gluten-free option, a vegan alternative, or simply want to experiment with different flavors.

Recipe Tips

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Creating the perfect Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars is easy when you keep a few tips in mind. One common mistake to avoid is over-heating the peanut butter and marshmallow mixture. Heating it for too long will result in a dry and crumbly texture. Be sure to remove from the low heat as soon as all ingredients are softened and easy to stir.

Another tip is to press the mixture firmly and evenly into the baking dish. This will help the bars hold their shape and prevent them from falling apart.

Make sure you let the cheerio bars fully chill until you eat them. If they aren’t completely set they will fall apart.

Enhancing the Flavor of Your Bars

Try experimenting with additional ingredients. You can add a handful of chocolate chips to the mixture before pressing it into the baking dish. You could also substitute a portion of the Cheerios with a different cereal. These extras can provide an extra burst of flavor and texture.

Storing and Serving Your Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars

Best Practices for Storage

To keep your Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars fresh for the long haul, it’s important to store them properly. Place the bars in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Keep them in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight. Stored this way, your bars can last up to a week.

If you want to freeze them, individually wrap each bar tightly in saran wrap, then in foil and store in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature overnight. They will be good for about a month in the freezer.

Creative Serving Suggestions

These Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars make a great addition to lunchboxes, sports practice snack or picnic baskets, and  are a quick and energizing snack on the go. I like to crumble them over a bowl of yogurt or ice cream for an extra crunch.

Love Cheerios? Here Are A Few More Ways To Enjoy

Cheerios turn ordinary snacks into extraordinary bites, one crunchy loop at a time.

• Cheerio Monster Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cheerio Cookies
• BBQ Chex Snack Mix

Positively Nutty

My dad used to say, “when in doubt, snack it out,” and when you make a batch of these Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars, remember to capture a photo and mention @NOBLEPIG and #noblepig on INSTAGRAM. I want to see how yours turned out.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars

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Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars

Looking for a quick and tasty snack? Try these delicious Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars. This easy recipe for Cheerios cereal bars is perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth and there isn't a better time than back-to-school season to enjoy them. 

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Cereal Bars, Cheerios Bars, Cheerios Cereal Bars, No-Bake peanut Butter Cheerio Bars, Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars, Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Chilling 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16 bars

Calories 192kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• measuring cups and spoons
• mixing bowls
• large pot
• wooden spoon
• 8 x 8 baking pan

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars:

• 4 cups Multi Grain Cheerios
• 1/2 cup peanuts, crushed
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 tbsps. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag mini marshmallows
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars:

• Prepare an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray or lining the bottom with parchment paper for easy removal. Set aside.
• Add Cheerios and peanuts to a large bowl and combine.
  4 cups Multi Grain Cheerios, 1/2 cup peanuts, crushed
• Melt peanut butter and butter together over low heat until fully combined. Add marshmallows and stir until smooth. Add vanilla extract and stir until combined. Remove from heat.
  1 cup creamy peanut butter, 4 tbsps. butter, 1 (10 oz.) bag mini marshmallows, 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Add Cheerios mixture to the pot and stir together until the cereal is completely coated.
• Once combined, scoop the cereal mixture into the greased baking pan and spread into and even layer, pressing down to make sure everything sticks together.
• Cover and place the peanut butter cereal bars in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or until completely set. Once set, slice and serve.

Notes

For optimal outcomes when preparing this, it's recommended to refer to the recipe details within the post. The recipe post commonly includes valuable notes that are not presented here.

 

The provided nutrition information is merely an approximation, as variations can arise depending on the specific ingredients/brands you select.

Nutrition

Serving: 49g | Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 5.3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 7.6mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6.5g | Vitamin A: 42IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 4mg

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The post Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars appeared first on Noble Pig.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

I just finished watching the series Breaking Bad. Just wow is all I can say. It was one incredible television show. Who else is a fan? The show was just so darn good and I did not want it to end…ever. I was honestly delaying watching the last three episodes because I really could not deal with the idea of not binge watching it every night.

We have now moved on to Better Call Saul, which is affiliated with the Breaking Bad series as a prequel. Written and made after the Breaking Bad series ended. We’ll see how it goes. It’s hard to imagine Breaking Bad could ever be rivaled in any way. But I have no choice, I have to move on.

These cookies were actually inspired by Breaking Bad. In one of the seasons, there is an attorney doing some shady work. His weekly money deliveries to the bank are accompanied by over-the-top treats as a sort of distraction for the bank employee letting him in the safe deposit vault. One of those treat deliveries were bacon banana cookies. My jaw kind of dropped when I heard it, knowing I would be making my own version soon. So glad I did. You will thank me later.

When adding bacon to a cookie (or any baked good), it needs to be crispy. You do not want any fatty edges left on the bacon a whatsoever. Make sure to cook your bacon until it is really done so it crumbles easily and has a nice texture.

The reason my cookies turn out perfectly round and fluffy comes from baking them in a whoopie pie pan. The wells of this type of pan are shallow and let the cookie spread slightly and then bake upward, which gives you a beautiful looking cookie. I use the pans to make eggs too. Having several of these pans on hand are a great asset to the kitchen. They are very thin and easy to store as well.

With such a mild flavor, I love adding French Grey Sea Salt to so many recipes, especially baked goods. Don’t leave this out, it absolutely made these cookies over-the-top and really brought home the whole salty-sweet combination.

The peanut butter glaze was a bit of an after thought, but it really made all the flavors of this cookie come full circle. You will have to experience it for yourself.

The consistency of the glaze should be just runny enough to drizzle over the cookies and not have it run off the sides too quickly, leaving behind these little glaze soldiers on the pan. This is how you know you got it just right.

Other Banana Bacon Peanut Butter Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Bacon Wrapped Bananas
Peanut Butter Banana Bacon Pancakes
Peanut Butter and Bacon French Toast with Caramelized Bananas
Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Three Years Ago: Streuseled Honey Butter Breakfast Muffins
Five Years Ago: Roasted Radish and Potato Salad
Six Years Ago: All You Can Eat Crisp Cornmeal Shrimp
Seven Years Ago: Asian Noodle Salad with Peanuts and Mint
Eight Years Ago: Chambord-Vanilla Ice Cream

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The post Bacon Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter Glaze appeared first on Noble Pig.