S'mores Granola Bars

Introduce

Chef :

Christina

S'mores Granola Bars

Quaker has a S'mores flavored granola bar, which happens to be my daughters favorite flavor. I've been making granola bars lately for me to snack on, so I decided to see if I could recreate her favorite flavor. I might be biased, but I think these are way better and with a way shorter list of ingredients than the boxed variety.

Ingredient

1 1/2 cup

oats

1 cup

crisp rice cereal

1/4 cup

ground flaxseed

1/4 cup

unsalted butter

1/4 cup

honey

pinch

salt

1/4 cup

coarsely chopped graham cracker pieces

1/4 cup

mini marshmallows + an additional handful

1/4 cup

dark chocolate chips

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Optional first step : Spread out the oats in a baking sheet and bake them in the oven at 350°F for 10 or so minutes until they are golden and toasted. Keep a close eye on them though, as they can burn quickly. Toasting the oats beforehand just adds a nice flavor to the finished bars, so this step is optional.

* Step 2

Line a 8x8"or a 9x9" pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the finished bars out and set aside.

* Step 3

Place the oats, rice cereal, ground flaxseed and about a handful of mini marshmallows into a large bowl and set it aside.

* Step 4

In a medium saucepan, start heating your butter over medium heat. Once it begins to melt, whisk in the honey and pinch of salt. This will form a kind of sticky caramel sauce, which will be the glue that holds the bars together. Let this come to simmer, then remove from heat.

* Step 5

Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the bowl and stir them all together using a rubber spatula. The marshmallows that are in the bowl will melt. Once everything is incorporated, allow this to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Then fold in the rest of the marshmallows, the Graham cracker pieces and the chocolate chips.

* Step 6

Pour this mix into the prepared baking pan and use either a spatula or another pan or your hands to press down on the granola mixture very firmly. Whatever you're using to press down the granola, spray it first with non-stick cooking spray. Its important to really pack it down hard or you'll end up with crumbly granola chunks instead of bars.

* Step 7

Place the pan into the fridge for at least 2 hours. Then, remove the granola from the pan using the parchment paper. Use a large, sharp knife to cut it into bars (or squares).

* Step 8

That's it! For grab and go convenience, you can individually wrap these using parchment paper and string or you can wrap them in plastic wrap. Store them for up to 1 week. They're a bit hard and crunchy straight out of the fridge, so I'd recommend letting them sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.

Note: if there is a photo you can click to enlarge it