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Gooey Cheerio & Chocolate Bars - Sweet and chewy bars made with yellow cake mix, marshmallows, Cheerios and chocolate chips! Addicting and oh so good!
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My swimsuits are officially packed away for the season. Sad, right? We had one 80-degree day this past weekend and now the temp has dropped back into the 60s. I don't have much hope it's going to make it back up past the mid-60s from here on out. . .so, my leggings and yoga pants are back. . .and so are the desserts.
When did they ever leave, you ask? Different subject, please. But before we move away from desserts, let me just tell you about these Gooey Cheerio & Chocolate Bars. My guess is, you've never made bars like this.
I mean, have you ever just spread melted butter in a pan and then sprinkled cake mix on top of it? If you have, I'm impressed. If you haven't, you should. The cast of characters beyond what I've already mentioned are marshmallows, Cheerios and chocolate chips.
The star of the show is the sweetened condensed milk that gets drizzled over the top to make some of the sweetest, chewiest, gooey-est (is that a word?) bars you've ever tasted.
If I could give you one important tip when baking these bars, it would be to use a piece of aluminum foil to cover the bottom of the oven to catch any spills. The ingredients tend to bubble a bit and if your pan has shallower sides like mine does, you'll be happy you used the foil.
When you pull these bars out of the oven, you'll want to run a knife around the edges of the pan right away, and then allow the bars to cool for at least 1-2 hours before you attempt to cut through them.
Talk about a yummy after school treat. Who am I kidding? These may all be gone before the kids get off the bus!
Gooey Cheerio & Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- 1 package yellow cake mix (do not prepare)
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- 3 cups Cheerios cereal
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread melted butter in 15.5"x10.5"x1 inch baking pan with sides.
- Sprinkle dry cake mix over butter.
- Top with marshmallows, Cheerios and chocolate chips.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over top.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- While warm, run knife around edge to loosen.
- Allow bars to cool 1-2 hours before cutting.
Notes
- Even Distribution: When layering the ingredients in the baking pan, ensure an even distribution of marshmallows, Cheerios, and chocolate chips. This ensures that each bite of the bars has a balanced combination of flavors and textures.
- Pressing Down: After pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the ingredients, gently press down on the mixture with the back of a spoon or spatula. This helps to compact the layers and ensures that the sweetened condensed milk penetrates into the other ingredients, resulting in gooey and cohesive bars.
- Cooling Time: Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares. This cooling time allows the sweetened condensed milk to set and holds the bars together, preventing them from falling apart when cut. For clean and neat cuts, refrigerate the bars for an additional hour before slicing.
Fran
Hi. So these tasted good but for me I’ll make a couple changes, a bit smaller pan, a bit more butter and less cook time. They came out a bit hard on the top and condensed milk burnt a little. I only cooked them the 25 min. I’m also gonna experiment with different cereal like golden Graham. Might be like a s’mores bar
Sara
Remember that ovens can vary as far as temperature, etc. so it's always best practice to check on the food throughout the baking process. I love the idea of your Golden Graham version.Yum!
Carrie
Hi,
So glad I found this recipe. It’s a treat from my childhood. When I’ve made them before, years ago…the crust did not stay together and they fell apart. Still yummy but messy. That never happened when my mom made them. Any tips?
Sara
I've never had a problem with the crust staying together either. I hope you try this recipe! Let me know how the bars turn out!
Lydia
How should these be stored? I’m planning to ship them which means it won’t have any refrigeration for about 3-4 days, will they go bad?
Sara
You might want to consider including a few ice packs along with the bars. It may help them stay more fresh during shipment!
Anonymous
Thank you for posting this one! I have the recipe, but I haven't made it in years and forgot what size pan I used. I'm excited to have my kids try it!
TJ
So glad I found this!
I grew up eating what we called "chewi-o bars"... and raised my daughter on them. She requested them last night and here I was trying to remember how much butter to use.
Imagine my surprise when every search I tried only came up with hundreds of other recipes, but not this one! The trick was searching for cheerios cake mix bars! lol
As an adult I started adding shredded coconut and finely chopped nuts to mine. Elevates the flavor even more (not like they need it though!).
BTW these are super easy to make vegan as well. Many cake mixes are already vegan. Use dairy free butter and chocolate chips. Coconut sweetened condensed milk. Vegan marshmallows (better than the gelatin ones imo). My non vegan family cannot tell the difference.
Sara
I'm so glad you found me and so happy you were able to make these bars again for your daughter!
Erin
Can you use any cake mix in this recipe? I just came across this site and I want to make but only have a white cake mix.
Sara
Hi Erin! White cake mix would be just fine!