Cereal and Milk Bars

My sister loved these Brown Butter Rice Krispie Bars so much I made them twice in one weekend. Each time the batch didn't last more than 18 hours sitting on my kitchen counter. Either no one in my family has any self-restraint or these actually are addictive, delicious, little bars.

I'm going to go with the latter.

After so much success with those browned butter bars, I thought I would try my hand with something along a similar vein—cereal and milk bars. I've seen this idea in the stores but I can't quite bring myself to buy them (mainly because they are stuffed with preservatives and still taste stale). I figured making these myself couldn't be too hard (after all, they are very similar to rice krispie bars), so I decided to give them a try.

I chose to use multi-grain cheerios because these are a favorite in my household. I figured I'm adding enough sugar with the marshmallows so using a healthier cereal would keep these bars from popping my shirt buttons. Though, I imagine a brightly colored cereal would make these look irresistible.

This recipe is so diverse because you can honestly use any cereal of your choosing. The bars have a chewy and crunchy texture. The browned butter gives them a subtle nutty flavor with a greater depth of flavor. The milk glaze gives them more of a "bowl full of cereal" quality to them. If you like rice krispie bars, these are for you.

Cereal and Milk Bars

Yields 16 2-inch squares

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
1 10.5-ounce bag marshmallows (mini marshmallows melt the best)
6 cups cereal of your choice (about half a 12-ounce box), I used Multi-Grain Cheerios

Grease an 8-inch square pan, loaf pan, or bar pan.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. To brown it, keep the butter on the heat until it turns brown and smells nutty. The butter will foam and turn golden before beginning to brown. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom. Watch the butter closely, it will go from brown to burned in less than a minute.

Once the butter is browned, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. Add the cereal once the marshmallows are smooth and stir until evenly coated.

Spread the cereal into the prepared pan. Press the cereal down with a silicone spatula. Let cool and cut into squares.

Milk Glaze
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 teaspoons water

In a small bowl, mix together the milk powder, powdered sugar, and water until the powder has dissolved completely. Spread or drizzle on top of the cereal bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.