Cereal treat bars
Fall has arrived! And for a festive school project, I thought it would be fun for my kids to make a fall-themed treat to enjoy. I had the idea to make a healthy protein cereal bar treat, and my intentions were to make it “pumpkin-spicey,” but in the midst of rummaging through the fridge and pantry to concoct this mess of a snack, I did not find any canned pumpkin puree. I had all the fall-ish spices, but it definitely needed some actual pumpkin in there to make it a fall treat. Nevertheless, I quickly pivoted from a pumpkin-spiced snack to a chocolately delight. Chocolate says autumn, right?? I had organic cocoa powder in the pantry that was looking lonely, so we went with that. I built the snack around the main ingredient to make it protein-rich: plain, unsweetened Three Wishes grain-free loop cereal. It’s made with such simple, clean ingredients (chickpea, tapioca, pea protein, and salt), and best of all, it’s high in protein and has no added sugar. My kids and I love it! It’s the perfect blank canvas for what we wanted to create.
We got to work, me and my little chefs, to mix up a sweet, but healthy snack. We mixed organic unsweetened peanut butter, organic tahini, organic maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl that was resting over a pot of boiling water, so as to serve as a make-shift double-boiler. The slow heat melted all the ingredients nicely together. We then took the mixture off the heat and stirred in the cocoa powder. We now had a nice sticky base to mix in the cereal. Then, we folded in the cereal until each crunchy piece was covered in the chocolately goodness. We poured the concoction into a square silicon baking sheet and smoothed it all out to make an even layer of cereal bars, and with the remaining cereal mixture, we portioned out the snacks into individual fun-shaped silicon muffin cups. We then placed everything in the freezer to set for a few hours. It’s important to freeze them so they firm up, and they are also best enjoyed frozen or semi-frozen, as they tend to fall apart otherwise.
But no matter how you eat them, they are absolutely addictingly delicious! I let my kids gobble them up first to their heart’s delight, and then when they went to bed, I just had to try a small piece. With the intention of just having a small piece, that one piece turned into two pieces, then three, then four….you get the picture. I love that even my little twirlies are able to eat these treats too, since I only sweetened them with maple syrup. And of course they loved them just as much as the rest of us!
This recipe has already become a staple in my house, as we have made them several times already! And, it’s only the second week of Fall! I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as we do!
If you have any nut allergies, you can simply swap out the peanut butter for sun butter or any other seed butter of choice.
Cereal Treat Bars
6-7 cups (one whole box) Three Wishes unsweetened cereal
1/2 cup organic, unsweetened peanut butter
1/4 cup organic tahini
1/2 cup organic maple syrup
2 tsp. organic vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. organic cocoa powder
Place a large bowl over a small pot of water and bring the water to a simmer. This will act as a double-boiler. Pour the peanut butter, tahini, maple syrup, and vanilla extract into the bowl. Gently stir as the heat below brings the mixture up to a warm temperature. Once everything is mixed together cohesively, remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder. Stir to combine. Then, gently fold in the cereal, being sure to coat every piece with the chocolate peanut butter mixture. Once all the cereal is generously drenched, pour the mixture out into a square or rectangle silicon or glass baking dish. Press down and smooth out with a spatula or spoon to create an even layer of cereal treats. If there is any remaining mixture, pour into individual silicon baking cups, or another baking dish, and press down to smooth out the treats. Place in the freezer immediately and allow to set for 3-4 hours or overnight. Enjoy frozen!
