These bars are a hybrid of some of my favorite bars.
No-bake, Chewy, Gooey, Caramely, with Peanut Butter, Special K, Cereal, Marshmallows.
And they’re so good. And so easy.
Ever since I made the Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cereal Bars, I’ve been thinking about how to remake them in a slightly new way.
These bars are based heavily on those, but instead of using Rice Krispies, I used Special K. You could also use Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, or a similar vegan or gluten-free cereal.
Instead of topping them with chocolate-peanut butter swirls, I stirred in marshmallows. I love marshmallows in bars because they lend so much gooey-and-chewy texture.
Plus, marshmallows are more well-behaved in the Caribbean heat and don’t melt everywhere like chocolate.
No-bake bars like these are always nice so you don’t have to heat up your house, especially this time of year.
And they’re made in one bowl in the microwave, and take less than 5 minutes to stir together. Usually it’s the fast and easy recipes people seem to make anyway, and you can add this one to the Fast and Easy list.
There’s no butter in the recipe, but you’d never guess it because they’re exceedingly buttery-tasting and rich.
The microwave-made sauce drenches the cereal in a sweet, brown sugary, caramel-vanilla, peanut buttery syrup and holds the bars together.
I love bars that I can really sink my teeth into, and these deliver.
They’re dense, wonderfully soft, with tons of chewiness and texture from the cereal and marshmallows.
Peanut butter has a way of making everything taste so good and decadent.
Even Special K.
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No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cereal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter, use Jif, Skippy, or similar; do not use natural or homemade peanut butter
- ½ cup light corn syrup, light colored, not lite
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups Special K cereal, Corn Flakes may be subsituted, or use about 3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- about 5 ounces marshmallows, half of one standard bag; I used large but mini are ideal
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 heaping cup peanut butter, corn syrup, sugars, and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt.
- Stop to stir. Mixture will be on the granular side, this is okay.
- Return bowl to microwave and heat for 1 more minute on high power.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Stir in the cereal and marshmallows. The marshmallows will melt to some extent, but not fully.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan, packing it down somewhat firmly with a spatula, and smooth the top.
- Cover pan with a sheet of foil (to prevent fridge smells), and place pan in fridge to set up for about 2 hours or until set, before lifting out with foil overhang, slicing, and serving.
- Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Adapted from Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cereal Bars
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Related Recipes:
Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cereal Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF)
Peanut Chewy Payday Bars (almost no-bake)
Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars
Double Chocolate Caramel Corn & Cocoa Rice Krispies Candy Bars
Nutella and Peanut Butter Graham Bars with Chocolate Frosting
Browned Butter Rice Krispies Treats – The best RKTs I have ever had. Double the butter and it’s browned, for great flavor and soft, buttery, chewy bars
No-Bake Nutter Butter Special K Bars
Peanut Butter Caramel Twix Bars (almost no-bake)
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Thanks for the entries in the 3-Piece Baking Set and Gluten-Free Dough Giveaway and the $100 My Sweet Muffin Giveaway
What’s your favorite no-bake or fast and easy dessert?
It’s hard to beat really easy cereal bars like this – especially when PB is involved!
The world needs more no bake recipes in the month of August. :) These look amazingly chewy, Averie! I’m loving the addition of marshmallows. Like sprinkles, I think marshmallows can do no wrong. :)
FAB! I loved that you used Special K-and just wonderful pb marshmallowy goodness. Hooray!
What an awesome twist on the typical Special K bar!! Can’t wait to try these out. :)
Thanks for stopping by and checking them out! It’s such a MN type of bar :)
I love how chewy, ooey, and gooey these looks! I haven’t baked with marshmallows in a while but I do have some in the cupboard… Hmmmm. Making these bars may just have to go on the to-do list this week. ;)
You will LOVE them. So easy too :)
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE peanut butter. I generally don’t buy it simply because I have no self control when it comes to the stuff. But I might have to make an exception and get some PB so I can try these bars. I especially like that they are no-bake so I don’ t have to heat up my kitchen on a hot summer’s day. Thanks for the inspiration!
I absolutely love these hybrid bars! And I bet that added cereal brings in so much crunch!
The chewiness and texture of these sounds amazing!
These sound wonderful, Averie! No bake desserts are great this time of year!
Yes love this. I would never have thought of this. Might try them with Rice Krispies. Thanks for a great recipe :)
And this was the version I made with Rice Krispies. So good too!
Mmm! I can almost taste the gooey sweetness of these bars! I need to make bars like this more often. I forget how good they are! (And how versatile other cereal is, besides rice krispies!)
I can’t believe there’s no butter in these…I would never have guessed! I love how ooey gooey they are! These could be dangerous around the house… but that’s just how I live– on the edge of danger… with lots of sugar!
No butter and I am all about living on your kind of edge and danger as well :)
Averie I am loving these! I am all about no-baking lately because quite frankly – I don’t want to turn on my oven! When we were at the lake, there were SO many of us that I just decided to make no-bake pies instead of cake for Kevin’s birthday. The house was already so hot from everyone inside it! Anyway, these bars are just glorious. I love marshmallow and PB together. These look like a texture lovers dream!
Nobake pies sound great. You are the queen of all those anyway with so many on your site I’ve always wanted to try! And PB + brown sugar (which turns to caramel in the micro) + m’mallows is so good. And they ARE indeed a texture lover’s dream!
Some of my best creations come from experimenting with my old “hybrid” recipes.
So, yeah, keep going. LOL
As bloggers we have to keep things fresh but I tell you, if I didn’t blog, there are certain desserts I’d make over and over and over and never change one thing to them :)
I need more bars in my life. And marshmallows. And peanut butter.
I guess I need these, huh?
Texture lover’s dream and m’mallows, PB, brown sugar, they are sooooo good! And so MN :)
These look great and I love how versatile they can be just by mixing up the type of cereal you use! Yum!