No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M Granola Bars

June is here! And boy am I glad it is! May was a completely booked, completely crazy cake making season and it felt so good to turn the page on my calendar and see BLANK spaces. Finally, I can catch my breath for a bit and get back to my regular posting schedule. I'm sure you guys are excited about that, right? :)


Today, I come bearing granola bars. The NO-bake kind, because my oven is tired and I am tired. And I just want quick, simple and delicious. These granola bars fit that description to a T!


There's only eight ingredients, four of which you'll mix together in a saucepan to create the "glue" that holds these bars together. The other four create the chewy/delicious factor. I was in a pretzel M&M kind of mood, not to be confused with actual pretzel M&Ms, which are also a great thing. But I only had mini M&Ms on hand, so I used them in a combination with regular pretzels.


You could throw in whatever you'd like really, the bars are very versatile. But you should know that this combination in particular is a pretty fantastic one. It was really hard to refrain from eating the whole pan. Oh and by the way, after these, you'll never buy granola bars ever again.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M Granola Bars

Yield: 10 bars

Ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup pretzels, chopped
1/4 cup mini M&Ms, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Directions:

Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together oats, Rice Krispies, pretzels, and mini M&Ms. Set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt together butter, honey, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then let simmer on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir together with a wooden spoon until everything is well-combined and coated.

Press mixture firmly and evenly into prepared pan, making sure to pack everything in nice and tight. Sprinkle on additional mini M&Ms and press down lightly to adhere.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the fridge.