Chocolate chip cereal bars

Granola/cereal bars are one of my favorite snacks. I used to buy boxes of these at the grocery store and eat these throughout the day. Never in a million years would I imagine myself making some at home!

I saw Brown Eyed Baker make these in a recent post and thought that I would follow suit. She said that the whole process took about 10 minutes, so what did I have to lose? Thankfully, I already had all the ingredients on hand, so that made this recipe another winner in my book.

And by golly, are these cereal bars easy to put together! I love the fact that I know all the ingredients that go into these bars and that there are no crazy preservatives or things that I can hardly pronounce. I like to wrap these up in waxed paper and bring them to work as a snack. My husband said that these were delicious, and I've noticed that he's stopped eating the store-bought versions. Coincidence? I think not!

Give these a try. It only takes about 10 minutes of your time, and the recipe makes enough for about 10 bars. If you'd like, you can include other add-ins like flax seeds, raisins, nuts and other yummy stuff. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
•  ¼ cup honey
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions

Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, stir the oats and rice cereal together; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar, honey, and butter together over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour the oat mixture into the prepared pan and press down to ensure that the ingredients are tightly compacted in the pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the miniature chocolate chips and press down on the top lightly with the back of a spoon or a spatula.

Cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in plastic wrap (I used waxed paper) or keep in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Yield: Recipe makes enough for about 10 individual cereal bars

Source: Brown Eyed Baker, who adapted it from Lauren's Latest