Soft and chewy cereal bars topped with prunes (dried plums), pumpkin seeds, and chocolate chips are a healthy breakfast or snack on the go.
This recipe is for you if you are like me and are not a huge fan of granola bars. If you prefer soft and chewy bars over hard and crunchy bars, this recipe is for you. Unlike the granola version, these cereal bars contain no oats but a blend of cereals. For added nutritional value, I choose ones that are fortified with fiber and/or protein and have a low sugar content.
First, I would like to address the name as one might think it is a misnomer. The only fruit in them are prunes, but prunes are synonymous with dried plums. So, it’s merely a case of potato-potato, tomato-tomato; it’s all the same. I wanted to use “plum sweet” instead of “prune sweet” in the name because—let’s be honest, I didn’t want some people to run away screaming at the very thought of “prunes.”
And here is a little trivia: Did you know that all prunes are plums, but not all plums can be prunes? Only specific varieties of plums can be used to make prunes. Whatever you want to call it, it is deliciously sweet!!
And that concludes our technical and scientific lesson for the day…
Making cereal bars is a lot like making a salad; you can swap out, mix-and-match the ingredients, and they will come out great. You can change the cereal, add nuts, or use different kinds and combinations of dried fruit and sweeteners. It is fun to conjure up new variations.
Here are a couple of tips for obtaining chewy cereal bars. Make sure you use the juiciest and moistest dried fruit you can get, in this case, prunes (aka dried plums). They are very moist and tacky, which also helps with the binding. Also, use liquid sweeteners. This recipe has equal amounts of honey and agave nectar. Why both? I didn’t want a pronounced honey flavor…but I desired its health benefits.
Here’s how to make these bars.
PLUM SWEET CHEWY CEREAL BARS
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Special K Protein Flakes or other flakes of choice
1 cup Rice Krispies cereal
1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup roasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds (shelled)
12 or so whole pitted prunes (dried plums), chopped to obtain 2/3 cup
1 egg white or 2 tbsp. liquid egg whites
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Generously coat an 8-cavity (each approximately 2.5″ x 3.5″ dimension) mini loaf pan with cooking spray.
Place cornflakes in a plastic bag. Crush with fingers to obtain coarse crumbs. Place in a large bowl. Add the remaining dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients. Add to dry, stirring to thoroughly incorporate. Divide equally into mini loaf pan. Press down firmly with your fingers to compact the cereal mixture. Each cavity should be just over half full. Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. For softer and chewier bars, use the shorter baking time. Allow to cool and firm up for 15 minutes before unmolding. Store in an airtight container. Makes 8 mini loaf pan size.
Note: A 12-cavity muffin pan may be used. Adjust baking time for 9 to 11 minutes. Makes 12.
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This looks GREAT!!!!!! WOW I'm definitely going to have to try this, thanks for the tips on making sure they're nice and chewy too, what a great snack! I'll bring these to work to snack on, yum 🙂
Thanks Stephanie! Hope you'll like them!