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
Sweet and chewy bars made with yellow cake mix, marshmallows, Cheerios and chocolate chips! Addicting and oh so good!
Ingredients
1/2 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
Place a sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of your oven to catch any spills from the bars while baking.
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.
Hi Erin! White cake mix would be just fine!
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.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you found me and so happy you were able to make these bars again for your daughter!
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!
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?
You might want to consider including a few ice packs along with the bars. It may help them stay more fresh during shipment!