It’s been a while since I’ve been able to just follow the recipe. I’m always trying to give them my own spin, or work with what I already have on hand. My inability to follow a recipe as written is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I love that creative outlet, tasting new flavor combinations, and of course, sharing them with you! But on the other hand, recipes are written in a specific way for a reason, and sometimes it really backfires on me, and I’m left with undercooked shortbread bars, really dry pumpkin bread, or curdled scalloped potatoes.
So I was thinking about making something along the lines of Rice Krispie Treats, and these Cranberry Almond Brown Butter Cereal Bars are what I came up with.
These are sweet and chewy and marshmallow-y. I made them with Honey Bunches of Oats With Almonds, but you could use any flaky cereal you have on hand. If you wanted a less sweet (more healthy) version, you could try using a cereal like Special K, just be sure to add 1/2 cup chopped almonds to the recipe and add them in with the dried cranberries.
The brown butter gives them a nice rich nutty butter flavor, and the cranberries add a sweet, chewy tang. The white chocolate drizzle dresses them up a bit.
PrintCranberry Almond Brown Butter Cereal Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 9 squares 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
These sweet, chewy cereal bars have a rich, nutty butter flavor, flecks of tangy cranberry, crunchy almonds and a white chocolate drizzle.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 10 ounce bag of mini marshmallows
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups Honey Bunches of Oats With Almonds
- 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup white chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- In a medium pan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk continuously and be careful not to let it burn. Gently boil the butter until it foams, and then turns brown and has a nutty aroma.
- As soon as you see the butter has turned a light brown, turn the heat down to low and add the marshmallows. Stir them continuously until they are completely melted into the butter and turn the heat off.
- Stir in the salt, and then the cereal and cranberries.
- When the cereal is evenly coated in the marshmallow mixture, pour it into a greased 8 by 8 baking dish. Gently press it down into the pan.
- Melt the white chocolate wafers. I do this in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between.
- Pour the melted white chocolate into a Zip-loc bag and cut a tiny amount of one corner of the bag off.
- Drizzle the white chocolate over the cereal bars, and allow to cool and set. Cut into squares to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 356
- Sugar: 36g
- Sodium: 315mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.8g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 62g
- Fiber: 1.9g
- Protein: 3.7g
- Cholesterol: 17mg
bree says
What a fantastic combination of stuff! My mom loves white chocolate and cranberries…I’m going to make these for her next weekend! Thanks for the great recipe!
Julie says
Thanks Bree! Hope your mom enjoys!
Jen @ Savory Simple says
These sound so amazing! Gorgeous.
Julie says
Thanks Jen!