Cereal Bars

I went to Girl's Camp this week as a cook and for one of the meals we were packing a bag breakfast for an overnight hike. We didn't really feel like granola bars were enough but the cereal bars that are commercially packaged were too expensive for our budget. I took the assignment to figure out something that would be easy to pack and a little bit more filling to replace the commercial cereal bars.

I made several varieties, making my girls taste test them all. This is what we finally decided upon.

Cereal Bars

6 c. Multi Grain Cheerios
1/2 c. toasted almond slivers
1/2 c. toasted coconut
1/2 c. Craisins
1/2 c. broken pretzel sticks
3 T. butter
1 bag mini marshmallows

Spray 9x13 baking dish with non stick spray. I also lined the pan with a piece of parchment paper that was lightly sprayed so that I could pull the whole thing out easily.

Toast the nuts and the coconut in the oven at 350 until they are slightly browned.

Mix the almonds, coconut, Cheerios, Craisins, and pretzels in a large bowl and stir until combined.

Melt the butter in a large pan. When the butter is melted pour in the marshmallows and stir constantly until they are completely melted. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into baking dish and press down until all the cereal is compacted well. Let cool and cut.

*I didn't cut the bars as I needed them to stay fresh for a few days until we used them. I pulled out the whole thing and packaged with my Food Saver. When it was opened to cut the bars and fill the bags they were as fresh as the first day. So, if you aren't able to eat the whole thing in one day you could easily vacuum seal the rest and it would stay good for a week or so.