Toss Rice Chex, Corn Chex, or Peanut Butter Chex cereal with a blend of melted butter, marshmallows, and peanut butter to make these rich and delicious Chex Bars. Add a drizzle of peanut butter chocolate on top to make them even better!
The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is popular for a good reason. It's amazing! Add that winning combination to Chex cereal and you've got a fantastic treat.
Whenever we make a new cereal treat recipe, we experiment until we find the perfect ratio of butter, marshmallows, and cereal as we did when we created our award-winning Rice Krispie Treats recipe.
For this Chex Bars recipe, I could have simply mixed the cereal into melted marshmallows and butter but I decided to add some peanut butter to give the treats a richer flavor.
Once I found the perfect blend of ingredients using Rice Chex, I was very happy with the recipe but then I discovered boxes of Chex Peanut Butter Cereal. I tried them in the recipe and "wow," they were incredible. The peanut butter flavor was fantastic and I loved the look of them too.
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Ingredients
- Chex Cereal - You can use Rice Chex or Corn Chex but if you want the very best peanut butter Chex bars, use Peanut Butter Chex Cereal. They are so good on their own and add an incredible peanut butter flavor to these treats.
- butter - We always use salted European-style butter (with a higher butterfat content than American-made butter) to give our treats the very best flavor. See our taste test results for more information.
- marshmallows - Use mini or regular marshmallows. We use Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows because they produce perfectly chewy treats. Some store-brand marshmallows are too sticky once melted and are difficult to blend with the cereal. If you do use them, you may need to add up to an extra cup of cereal. See our marshmallow conversion chart for details about measuring marshmallows.
- creamy peanut butter - Use your favorite brand of peanut butter. The peanut butter flavor will really shine through so use something you really enjoy eating right out of the jar. I choose Jif.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
- extra-large mixing bowl - You want to use a bowl that allows you room to mix the cereal and marshmallows together.
- medium-large (3 or 4-quart) saucepan - I like using a non-stick pan so the marshmallows won't stick too badly.
- 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan - If you use a non-stick pan, I still recommend greasing the pan with butter (my preference) or baking spray for easy removal. You can also use a well-greased glass pan.
- silicone spatula - If you grease a silicone spatula (or Spoonula) with butter or baking spray, the cereal treat mixture won't stick. You can also use a wooden spoon but I'd grease it too.
- small saucepan - Use this to melt the chocolate and peanut butter.
Instructions
Grease a large mixing bowl with butter and pour in 7 cups (a 12-ounce box) of Peanut Butter Chex Cereal. Set aside.
Set a medium-large (3 or 4-quart) saucepan over low heat. Add the butter and peanut butter and allow it to begin to melt.
Stir until melted and smooth.
Pour the marshmallows into the pan.
Stir the marshmallows and melted peanut butter and butter.
Allow the marshmallows to begin melting. Stir every minute or so.
Once 75% of the marshmallows have melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir until melted.
Pour the melted marshmallow, butter, and peanut butter mixture over the Peanut Butter Chex Cereal.
By allowing the residual heat to melt the remaining marshmallows, your treats will be nicely chewy. When marshmallows get too hot they create hard treats.
Gently stir the marshmallow mixture into the cereal.
Once the cereal is completely coated, pour it into your pan.
Press the cereal treat mixture into the greased pan in an even layer. Do not press too hard. You'll break the cereal into small bits.
To make the chocolate drizzle, heat chocolate chips and creamy peanut butter in a small saucepan set over low heat.
Stir the peanut butter until it coats the chocolate chips and allow the chocolate to begin melting. Heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
Once about 75% of the chocolate chips have melted, remove the pan from heat. Stir the chocolate until melted and smooth.
Pour the melted chocolate into a zip-top bag.
Drizzle it over the Chex Bars.
Let the chocolate firm up for several hours at room temperature.
Cut the peanut butter Chex cereal treats into squares.
The chocolate will be firm enough to hold its shape but will be soft enough to cut through.
If you are in a hurry, you can allow the treats to cool for one hour at room temperature and then pop the treats into the freezer for 5-10 minutes just until the chocolate firms up.
Substitutions
Instead of using Peanut Butter Chex Cereal, you can use Rice Chex or Corn Chex. Both will taste great.
Don't like peanut butter? You can eliminate the peanut butter from the recipe and add 1 extra tablespoon of butter.
You could also use Cashew Butter like we did when making Cashew Butter Rice Krispie Treats or Nutella like our Nutella Rice Krispie Treats.
To make these treats vegan and gluten-free, use coconut oil or plant-based butter and vegan marshmallows.
Variations
To add a bit more peanut flavor, sprinkle chopped peanuts over the top of these peanut butter bars.
Or you can drizzle melted peanut butter chips over the top to make these extra peanut buttery.
Top tips
Do not overheat your marshmallows or your treats will be hard.
Also, do not smash the cereal into the baking pan or you will crush the Chex cereal squares.
We recommend pouring the melted marshmallow and peanut butter mixture over the cereal in a well-greased mixing bowl. The cereal won't get too hot (which can cause soggy stale-tasting treats).
Storage
These peanut butter Chex Cereal treats will taste the best the day they are made but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
To keep them longer, you can freeze them in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Chex Bars
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan
- 1 small saucepan
Ingredients
Chex Cereal Treats
- 7 cups Chex Cereal (12-ounce box Peanut Butter Chex or Rice Chex or Corn Chex)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 10 ounces marshmallows
Chocolate Drizzle
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Cereal Treats
- Grease an extra-large mixing bowl and an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with butter.
- Pour the Chex Cereal into the bowl and set asize.
- Cut the butter into slices and place them in a medium-large (3 or 4-quart) non-stick saucepan.
- Add ⅓ cup of creamy peanut butter and set over low heat.
- Stir often until melted.
- Add the marshmallows and toss to coat.
- Allow the marshmallows to begin melting.
- Stir occasionally, until about 75% of the marshmallows have melted. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
- Then, remove the pan from the heat and stir until the marshmallows are completely melted and are smooth and creamy.
- Pour the melted peanut butter marshmallow mixture over the cereal.
- Stir until well blended.
- Gently spread the cereal treat mixture into the greased pan.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle
- Combine the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of creamy peanut butter in a small saucepan.
- Set the pan over low heat and stirring frequently, allow the chocolate to begin to melt.
- Once about 75% of the chocolate has melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir until completely melted. This will take only a minute or two.
- Spoon the chocolate into a small zip-top bag and snip off one tip.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the Chex Bars.
- Allow the chocolate-topped treats to cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours until the chocolate firms up.
- Cut the cereal treats into square bars and serve.
Notes
Storage
Store these Chex Bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Or, place them in a zip-top bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.Tips
- Do not get your marshmallows too hot as overheated marshmallows will make hard treats.
- Use fresh marshmallows for the best texture.
- Use salted European-style butter for the best flavor.
- Do not press down your cereal treat mixture too firmly or you may crush the cereal.
- Pour the hot peanut butter marshmallow mixture over the cereal in a well-greased mixing bowl for the best results.
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