I hate to bore you with two cereal posts in a row, but this week I actually have a cereal recipe for you. These are a fun take on Rice Krispie Treats, but instead of using crisp rice cereal, you use toasted oat cereal (Cheerios) and dried cranberries. This recipe is very easy and great for when you want to bring a snack somewhere. You can play around with the mix-ins, too. I’d like to try toasted slivered almonds sometime very soon.

Cranberry Oat Cereal Bars

Recipe from Everyday Food

(I make these in a 9×13 pan to have a more stable bar, the original recipe calls for a 10×15 rimmed baking sheet.)

Nonstick Cooking Spray

4 T. unsalted butter

1 (10 oz.) bag mini marshmallows

1/2 t. salt

6 C. toasted oat cereal

1 C. dried cranberries (or raisins)

1. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and salt; cook, stirring occasionally until marshmallows have melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the dried cranberries.

3. Immediately transfer to the greased pan. Using a spatula or your hands (I prefer using my hands slightly wet), press in quickly and firmly. Let cool, about 1 hour. Turn pan over and pop out the firm oat mixture. Cut into 24 bars or make as small or large as you like. Store in airtight container up to 2 days.

I’ve made these a few times now and they are a hit with both kids and adults. If you can believe it, I have never made Rice Krispie Treats before, even though I do love them. They are another thing I’ll have to add to my list of “I can’t believe I still haven’t made that.”