Avalanche Granola Bars

So I ate the last granola bar this morning at work.

Not a big deal, but it means I must make more immediately. We always have these granola bars on hand because they don’t need to be refrigerated or frozen and can last on the shelf for weeks (or maybe longer — but we never have any that make it that long).

I had been thinking about these Avalanche Bars I made once from Cookies and Cups, and I thought since these granola bars already use a peanut butter base, it wouldn’t be hard at all to swap out my regular add-ins for some more “Avalanche-type” flavours.

The Avalanche Bars are originally a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory treat — obviously, because they are an over-the-top delicious combination of rice krispies, peanut butter, white chocolate, chocolate and marshmallows.

I took out the raisins and coconut from my original recipe, and added some marshmallows. I didn’t want big chunks of marshmallow, so I let them get pretty gooey. I still added the mini chocolate chips, but they got pretty gooey, too. Not that I’m complaining — chocolate is chocolate.

I didn’t want to add white chocolate chips to my granola bars because I find the regular size too chunky in a bar like this — I prefer the minis in granola bars, but you can’t get them in white chocolate. So instead I just melted some white chocolate and drizzled it on afterwards.

So I was taking some photos, after these came out of the oven and were cool enough to cut. And I thought I would be all artsy and take a bite of one, ya know, for that “someone here is actually willing to eat these” look.

I promise you, I tried to take some photos…. but there was no stopping my mouth once it got started.

These are so good.

Generally, I think of granola bars as a somewhat healthy snack for anytime of day. These taste much more dessert-like than my original recipe. Although I’m not sure that there is really much more sugar in them, since I omitted all sugar, and replace the raisins and coconut (both of which have sugar) with marshmallows and drizzled chocolate.

So what I’m saying is: if you want to call this a healthy, mid-morning snack — go for it! And if you want a slice for dessert, it’ll satisfy that craving, too.

Seriously, seriously irresistible.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 16-20 bars

Sweet, gooey granola bars filled with Rice Krispies, peanut butter and chocolate chips and topped with white chocolate and peanut butter chips! A decadent snack or even dessert.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup wheat bran or ground flax
• 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies (plus additional for topping)
• 2 1/2 cups large flake oats
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips (optional)
• 2 tsp milk or cream, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x9" or 8x11" pan with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray(I used an 8x11" pan, and you can see mine are on the thin side. If you want thicker than that, use a 9x9")
2. In a large bowl, melt together butter and peanut butter. Stir in marshmallows until soft and starting to melt (but not necessarily completely melted).
3. Stir in corn syrup, vanilla, wheat bran, Rice Krispies, oats and mini chocolate chips until combined. (If you don't want your chocolate to melt, wait a couple minutes before adding in) Sprinkle with additional Rice Krispies for a little extra texture if desired.
4. Spread into prepared pan and bake 15-17 minutes. Bars will not necessarily be firm, but should be started to turn golden brown at the edges.