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Chewy no bake granola bars studded with M&M’s® and perfect for some summer fun-shine and spontaneous outings! And don’t forget to enter the “Share A Little Funshine Sweepstakes”
My kids are out of school! Eeek. I am both excited and terrified. I mean, what mom isn’t at this point right? We have the luxury of a fun summer ahead of us, not as busy schedules, a little sleeping in (crossing my fingers this actually happens), and hopefully lots of fun.
I am hoping to share some “funshine” with my kids, and with you guys this summer, while still having a life, and some spontaneous summer fun.
Spontaneous summer fun is my favorite (I want you guys to think about the movie Elf, then read that again. Did you laugh? You should have.) We live in a really beautiful place. There are lots of amazing hikes, gorgeous scenery, lakes to fish at or play on, rock walls to climb. You get the idea. We have the great outdoors at our finger tips, and so I really want to take advantage of that this summer.
The problem is, being spontaneous can be kind of hard when you have four kids. Because ummm…without some planning, instead of a grand adventure you end up with no diapers and wipes when your kid gets stinky, and cranky munchkins when they get the munchies.
I decided one of the best ways I can get around this and still be spontaneous in my adventures, is to have my car prepared with the essentials. In my life those essentials involve food!
I found this awesome recipe for no bake granola bars over on Made From Pinterest, and I made my own version of them with some help from M&M’s®, which I had a coupon for, wahoo! You just have to visit MyConfectionCorner.com to get a coupon for $1 off a bag of M&M’s®.
Our spontaneous summer fun will definitely involve these granola bars. I whipped up a great big batch, and wrapped them individually, and put them in my pantry for easy access. Now I can grab a few as I am heading out the door with the kids, and always have something to snack on!
The other awesome thing about these granola bars is they take basic pantry ingredients and some M&M’s® Plain. I went to Walmart and bought a M&M’s® Plain 42 oz. bag so I could make plenty, and I did. The recipe I included will make a whole cookie sheet, which is about 20 good sized bars. But we have gone through them quick. I also picked up the M&M’s® Peanut – FC Bag 42. oz bag variety as well because how good would that be? And I figured while I was there a Life Savers® Hard Candy bag would be great to keep on hand for a small treat that I can keep in the car, that won’t melt or anything in the heat!
So I have made the M&M’s® version of the granola bars, but I also picked up a bag of Skittles®, so I could make a few different flavors of these bars. What do you think? Will a Skittles® granola bar be good? I’ll let you know!
No Bake M&M's® Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick cooking oats or pulse whole oats in a food processor a bit
- 2 cups whole oats
- 2 C rice crispy cereal
- 1/2 C shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
- 1/2 C butter
- 1/2 C honey
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup Plain M&M’s®
- 1/3 Cup Peanut M&M’s®
Instructions
- Mix oats, cereal, pecan pieces and coconut in a mixing bowl.
- Melt butter over a medium high heat in a small sauce pan.
- Add the honey, brown sugar and salt to the butter.
- Stir together until mixed, then leave it alone until it comes to a boil.
- Give it a stir, then once the whole pot is boiling, set a timer for 2 mins and 15 seconds, and turn the heat down to medium.
- Make sure it keeps boiling.
- After the vanilla and mix together, then pour the mixture over the oats.
- Give it a good stir until mixed together and completely coated.
- Add in the M&M’s® Plain
- Add in the M&M’s® Peanut
- Press into a cookie sheet (18 x 13 pan) that is lightly greased and lined with parchment paper. Press well so that the bars do not fall apart when you eat them.
- Put in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up, then cut into size.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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And be sure to click here to receive instant savings on M&M’s®, SNICKERS® Ice Cream Bars, Dr Pepper® Cherry, Skittles®, Pedigree Dentastix®! I’d love to hear your favorite ideas for making summer FUN!
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