Cereal in its finest form

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Happy Monday, everyone! First, a quick weekend recap…

After completing this HIIT treadmill workout and Super Sweaty Abs Circuit on Saturday morning, I got ready and headed home to celebrate Thanksgiving with Andy’s family. It was fun to visit with his family, but I was most excited about getting home to see my sister who I haven’t seen since this day…

That’s right…since I got married in August! Way. Too. Long. Luckily, we got to hang out and went on a five mile run before I had to leave yesterday. Can’t wait to spend more time with her this week for Thanksgiving!

When I got home yesterday, I needed to make some food for our small group tonight, and Andy and I both agreed that we wanted these cereal M & M bars we haven’t had in forever.  I am obsessed love cereal so cereal in a dessert? Yes, please!

The best part about these bars is that they’re no-bake (aka super easy!). They’re also super easy to eat as you make them, so watch out…I may or may not have eaten a ton of it before finally getting it in the pan!

No-Bake Cereal M & M bars
Serves 12-18 (depends how big you cut your squares)

  • 2 1/2 c. pretzel sticks, halved
  • 3 c. Chex cereal (I used a combination of oats and rice cereals.)
  • 1 1/2 c. M & Ms (Use red and green ones to make this a holiday treat!)
  • 4 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 package marshmallows
  • 1/3 c. peanut butter
  1. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Place a large saucepan on the oven and melt butter, marshmallows, and peanut butter over low heat. Be sure to stir regularly so that you don’t burn your mixture. 
  3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix M & Ms, cereal, and pretzel sticks. 
  4. As soon as marshmallow mixture is melted, remove from heat and quickly pour over cereal mixture. Mix well. 
  5. Press into pan. Best if you refrigerate these for a few hours before serving — but if you can’t wait, (like me!) go ahead and dig in!

How to “level up” this recipe

  • Use whole wheat Chex and wheat pretzel sticks for a simple replacement.
  • Use light butter instead of regular.
  • Instead of M & Ms, use another type of chocolate-covered candy, such as raisins or almonds. DO NOT try to replace the M & Ms with chocolate chips — it won’t work (trust me). Be sure whatever you choose has a hard shell so it doesn’t melt.

How to “level down” this recipe

  • This certainly isn’t the healthiest recipe in the world, but it sure is delicious! Hopefully it’ll satisfy any sweet tooth in the house!

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