Tag: Cheerios Crispie Bars

The long Thanksgiving weekend is behind us…my favorite food holiday of the year.  Our Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely delicious, and day was just a little sweeter as it was my daughter’s birthday as well.  Of course our Thanksgiving was not nearly as exciting though as what happened at my mother’s house – thank goodness for that.  My grandmother is almost 94 years old – and unfortunately her body is starting to slow down.  There are times on the phone that she just can’t get the words out – and I know it is frustrating for her, but she tries to stay in good spirits as best as she can.  Most of the time she just ends up saying the opposite of what she means – and as long as you know what is going on, it is just humorous.

So – back to Thanksgiving.  Everyone was just sitting down to Thanksgiving at my mother’s house – when my grandmother took a bite, and choked.  My stepfather – who is very skilled at this – tried to dislodge the food with the Heimlich Maneuver, but was unsuccessful.  She ended up passing out, as they called 911 – and fortunately they were able to save her.  A few hours later she was back at the house eating ice-cream, and what did she say to my mother?  I am glad I ruined your Thanksgiving – omitting the important word *didn’t*.

I don’t often bake with nuts – mostly because my younger doesn’t care for them in her baked goods – but occasionally I find a recipe where nuts are an integral part, and I cannot omit them.  I found this recipe in Cooking Light – and after the last marshmallow crispy dessert I made, I was definitely up for another.  This one had peanut butter and Cheerios (my all time favorite cereal) in the mix, which definitely intrigued me.  I noticed that this recipe called for whole almonds – and I have to admit, that scared me just a little.  The last thing I wanted was to pack these in my older daughter’s lunch, and for one of those almonds to go down the wrong pipe.  I almost chopped them up, but I decided I was being a little too paranoid…

These were a delicious snack – the pretzels with the Cheerios were a perfect combination, and I loved the peanut butter flavored marshmallow that covered everything.  They were definitely not too sweet – which was very much needed after eating sweets all week.  So, if you are looking for a quick and easy treat for the lunch box this week, look no further.  I won’t blame you one bit though after reading this post – if you decide to chop up those almonds, or even omit them all together…maybe being paranoid is a good thing.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 1/4 cups toasted oat cereal (such as Cheerios)
• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup crushed hard pretzel twists
• 1/3 cup roasted, salted almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Cooking spray