Car Snacks

I’m heading to Kelowna in the morning, and since I have a fear of being trapped in a moving vehicle for 3.5 hours without any snacks I figured I better make something for the road lest I get hungry and have to resort to over-priced gas station snacks.  Besides, I’m practically a soccer mom in training and would never want to disappoint my fellow passengers! Inspired by Angie’s pantry purge and a recipe I found in this cookbook I opened up the cabinets and pulled out the makings of something portable, something chewy, and something chocolatey.

The goods:

Puffed wheat cereal, oatmeal, craisins, dried apricots, mixed nuts, coconut, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla.

In a large bowl, measure out 3 c of cereal, 1 c oatmeal, 1/2 EACH of craisins, apricots (quartered), mixed nuts, coocnut, and sunflower seeds.  Add 1/4 c of flaxseed, too.

Stir it all together and set aside.  I could probably eat this as-is, and I don’t even like cereal.

In your oldest and most beat-up saucepan, mix 1/2 c EACH of peanut butter, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and honey.

Hypothetically, I could have cooked it over medium heat and it would become smooth. Unfortunately, mine never melted properly…not sure why. Maybe it just needed more time?

I figured that melting it the the microwave would work better, so I zapped it for about 30 seconds and that seemed to help some.

Can’t forget the vanilla – add 1 tsp and all will be right with the world again.

Pour the (semi) liquid ingredients over the cereal mixture.

And attempt to stir until everything is coated and combined.

It’s time for me to confess my (lack of) brilliance.  I was having a hard time stirring the cereal, so I figured I would just use my hands.  Do you think I remembered that the chocolate part had just come off the stove and then had been microwaved?  Oops. And ouch.  However, I’m not one to quit at half-time so I kept going, kneading the mixture with my asbestos hands until it formed one giant ball of goodness.

Dump everything whole bowl into a greased 9 x 13″ pan. Do you wish you were at my house to lick the bowl yet?!?!

Press into an even layer, and let it cool while you ice your hands.

Cut into bars, wrap in plastic, and back in your overflowing bag.

The million-dollar question: how do they taste????

Chewy, light, crunchy, sweet, and salty all in one.  I’m looking forward to the car ride now!