Rice Cereal Energy Bars

Ingredients

Contains: milk, peanut, tree nuts, sesame (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 7 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spread the sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and rolled oats on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, stirring once, until lightly golden.

2. In a large bowl, combine the toasted seeds and oats with the salt, chopped dates, raisins, dried apricots, dried cherries and crisp rice cereal.

3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir the corn syrup and white sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a gentle boil, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4. Stir the crunchy peanut butter into the hot syrup until smooth, then stir in the powdered milk, vanilla extract and almond extract.

5. Pour the peanut butter syrup over the dry mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated.

6. While the mixture is still warm, fold in the semisweet chocolate chips so they soften slightly without fully melting.

7. Dampen your hands with a little water and press the mixture firmly into a 9x13-inch pan, pressing it down evenly.

8. Let the pan cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour until firm.

9. Cut into 24 bars and store in an airtight container.