Nut, Cereal & Peanut Butter Snack Bar – Gluten Free

Gluten free, kid friendly, on the go, protein is HARD to come by so my husband came up with these:

ENJOY!

Slightly Messy but Tasty and Cheaper Than Storebought Energy Bars

• ½ cup dry roasted peanuts (the ones I found were not salted but they could be)
• ½ cup sunflower seeds (no shells)
• ¼ cup flax seed
• ½ cup (or slightly more) flavored craisins- I found them in orange, raspberry, and blueberry at WinCo
• 4 cups Gluten Free Rice Chex (works better if you do not crush them)
• ½ cup Natural Creamy Peanut butter (be sure to mix the oils in beforehand)
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• 1 t vanilla

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a big bowl and set aside. Heat peanut butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Combine ingredients until more or less evenly mixed with a scraper. Scoop mix into lightly greased 8×8 pan.  Press into pan firmly with a metal or non stick flipper.  Don’t be afraid to use some hutspa so that it will stick together.  Let sit for 1 hour.  Cut into desired size (10 bars in an 8×8 pan seems to work well).  It may be necessary to form up bars with hands when removing from the pan (so this is not for those of you who are grossed out by a little stickiness).  I cut them up and put them in snack bags to take camping with my kids.