I usually don’t buy plain Cheerios – they’re good but not a favorite around here. But when I found some on sale at a can’t-pass-it-up price, I ended up bringing a couple of boxes of them home. I figured that they would be great for making treats; I definitely prefer them to Rice Krispie when there is a bag of marshmallows involved. I wondered what else I had on hand that would be appropriate for adding to the mix, and after a quick survey of my pantry I came up with a bag of chocolate chips and a bag of dried cranberries. (I actually found the cranberries at Dollar Tree!). He combination sounded delicious so I thought, why the heck not?
Before we get started on the recipe, I have to share something very important that you should always remember when you’re making anything along the lines of Rice Krispie treats. Never, under any circumstances, should you turn up the heat! Low heat is key to getting a soft, gooey finished product. If your treats come out stiff and hard, it’s probably because you got impatient and turned the heat up! It takes a lot of patience, but trust me, the results are totally worth it! Anyway…
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 4 c. marshmallows
- 5 c. original Cheerios
- 1 c. dried cranberries
- 1 c. chocolate chips
1. Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. I used a sheet pan to make my bars thin, but you can also use a cake pan for thicker bars.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows to butter and allow them to melt, stirring constantly, until the mixture has a smooth texture.
3. Add cereal. Stir until it is evenly coated with marshmallow.
4. Add cranberries. Stir until they are evenly distributed through the cereal.
5. Stir in chocolate chips. Which will begin to melt. Continue stirring until all of he elements are well combined.
6. Dump the mixture into prepared pan. Use a piece of waxed paper to press it evenly into the pan.
7. Allow to cool to room temperature. Cut into bars to serve.
Yum, right? And I still have a box and a half of Cheerios left… I think I need to do some more yummy experiments with them, since this one was such a success!
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