Starbucks Chewy Fruit And Nut Bars

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 18
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups crispy rice cereal (see note below)
• 1 cup dried apricot, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
• 1/2 cup golden raisin
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup or 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Recipe

• 1 ingredient note: look in your health food aisle for a healthy alternative to rice krispies. the brand i found is made by enviro-kidz and uses brown rice.
• 2 prepare 9x13 pan with non-stick spray (or line with parchment paper).
• 3 in a large mixing bowl, toss all dry ingredients. feel free to substitute your preferred nut or dried fruit.
• 4 in a saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup. bring to a boil and allow to boil one minute. (note: boiling the sugars is what helps the bars become firm and not sticky, so this step is important).
• 5 after boiling, turn off heat; add vanilla and peanut butter. quickly pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients and toss to combine.
• 6 pour warm mixture into prepared pan. wet your fingers and press the mixture down into the pan to compress the bars so they will slice evenly.
• 7 when cool, use a sharp knife to cut into 18 bars (1 long lengthwise cut and 9 cuts across). enjoy with a hot cup of starbucks coffee for an authentic experience!
• 8 note: starbucks does not list corn syrup in their ingredients, but the sweetener in their list is not readily available. i tried using maple syrup, but the bars were very crumbly and would not stay together in bars. therefore, i found that corn syrup is the best ingredient that is readily available.