These Chewy Chex™ Mix Peanut Butter Bars just scream Christmas! Chex™ Mix of any kind always graces the appetizer table at my grandma’s house every year. That is pretty much where I set up shop. There is always smoked salmon, cream cheese, ranch-flavored oyster crackers, peanut M&M’s, potato chips, onion dip, and cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.
I cannot have a Christmas without some sort of Chex™ mix on my table, so I decided to make this version. A quick go-to recipe that happens to be sweet and topped with CHOCOLATE. Easy to make-and-take to your Christmas Eve gathering. I’m now also making a mental note to make muddy buddies. Anything made out of Chex™ cereal is just perfection.
It feels like Christmas is going faster than ever this year. Wasn’t it just yesterday that a 16-pound turkey was roasting in my oven? Who else is kinda stressing out right now? Who else doesn’t have all their presents bought and wrapped? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
About the only thing I’ve been on top of this year is baking Christmas cookies. I am in a serious baking mood right now. It’s crazy. All I want to do is bake bread, make cinnamon rolls, and pour brittle. I don’t even care that I’m not eating it. I am just loving the time in my kitchen, the process, and the results. Daniel, however, is eating all the sweets and getting the sugar shakes.
The end result of all that kitchen time was these Chewy Chex™ Mix Peanut Butter Bars. So delighted to make their acquaintance. Take some time out of your busy Christmas schedule to make these and let them take over your calorie count for the day.
Chewy Chex Mix Peanut Butter Bars
Chex cereal just screams the holidays and these chewy peanut butter bars will be the perfect thing to bring to any party this year!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 18 servings 1x
Ingredients
1 ½ cups chow mein noodles
1 ½ cups pretzels
3 cups Rice Chex™ cereal
½ cup M&Ms
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
|| Chocolate Topping ||
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
Optional: peanut butter chips, chocolate shavings
Instructions
Place chow mein noodles and pretzels in a large Ziplock® bag and crush with a rolling pin into smaller pieces. About the size of the Rice Chex™ cereal.
In a medium bowl, mix cereal, chow mein noodles, pretzels and M&M’s together and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, stir together brown sugar and corn syrup. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Let sugar mixture boil for one minute then remove from the heat. Immediately add the peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until combined. Pour over the cereal mixture.
Mix together until everything is completely coated and pour into a greased 13″ x 9″ pan. Gently press bars into shape until the pan is evenly covered.
|| Chocolate Topping || Melt chocolate chips and butter in a microwave or saucepan on the stovetop. Spread melted mixture evenly over the top of the bars. Sprinkle bars with peanut butter chips, chocolate shavings, etc. as desired.
Let bars cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Keywords: bars, chex mix, chocolate, christmas baking, cookies, peanut butter
