Fall Harvest Bars

It is officially fall!  Every fall my mother-in-law used to make bars called “Fall Harvest Bars” that had candy corn and Crispix Cereal in them.  The recipe was from one of those small, monthly cookbook magazines that you find in the grocery store checkout aisle (maybe Pillsbury?).  It was a  rice crispy cereal bar type recipe, but it was so much better.  One year she was unable to find the recipe booklet so I offered to search for it on the internet.  I found a few recipes that were close, but not the exact recipe she remembered.  There was one recipe that I found that sounded really good, and we both decided we wanted to try it.  Although I printed the recipe, neither of us ever made it.  You see, about a year after we searched so hard for the recipe, my mother-in-law passed away.

I still haven’t found the exact recipe my mother-in-law used to make.  So, I decided to adapt the recipe that we had printed off and had wanted to try.  I used Crispix instead of “crispy rice cereal” because that is what my mother-in-law’s recipe used.  You could easily change the cereal and/or the candy and completely change these bars for any holiday or season, or to fit your taste.  Although not an exact match, it is very similar to what I remember.  And like hers, this is not your average rice crispy cereal bar.

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Fall Harvest Bars

by Jill {www.dulcedough.com} September-24-2011

A fall-themed cereal bar with candy corn and peanuts.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 package yellow cake mix with pudding
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups Crispix Cereal
• 2 cups peanuts, lightly salted
• 1 cup candy corn

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.2. Combine the butter, egg, and cake mix in a large bowl until well combined.3. Press cake mix "dough" into the bottom of an ungreased 15"x10"x1" jellyroll pan.4. Bake for 12 -15 minutes or edges are lightly browned.5. Remove from oven, sprinkle marshmallows over hot crust, then bake for an additional 1 - 2 minutes or until the marshmallows have puffed.6. While crust is baking, combine corn syrup, sugar, and brown sugar in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until it comes to a boil.7. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir until smooth.8. Gently stir in cereal, peanuts, and candy corn to coat.9. Spoon over warm crust and marshmallows, then wet your hands and gently press the cereal mixture to spread it over the marshmallows.10. Cool completely, then cut into bars.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 48 bars

The website where I originally found this recipe and  printed it from no longer exists.  I found similar recipes at Land O Lakes and at Recipe Quick.


Updated

September 24 2011