Banana Nut Cheerios®

I am not a breakfast lover. I'd just as soon skip it most days. However, since I'm old now and its a well-known fact that you should never skip breakfast...I try to work it in. Usually I just grab a yogurt and/or a piece of fruit and that's that. This week while I was grocery shopping I stumbled on the new Banana Nut Cheerios® . Can I just say...YUM! They are my new breakfast fav! They have a really great banana flavor and are not overly sweet.

While I was eating them my baker-inclined brain was dreaming up all the possibilities of throwing these little jewels into some little baked goodie. I was thinking of some sort of variation on Rice Krispie Treats. Then I had a brain storm. I wonder if I could make a Banana Nut Cheerios® crust instead of a graham cracker crust for my next Banana Cream Pie??? The possibilities are endless! Leave it to me to take something perfectly healthy and whip it into something calorie laden!

I did go to the Cheerio's website and I found a few recipes. In the spirit of being more healthy, I think I'll try their Banana Nut Cheerios® Energy Bars.

Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:50 min
Makes:24 bars
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4 cups Banana Nut Cheerios® cereal
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup roasted unsalted sunflower nuts
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

1. Spray 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix cereal, cranberries, almonds and sunflower nuts.
2. In 2-quart saucepan, heat corn syrup, brown sugar and peanut butter to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
3. Pour syrup mixture over cereal mixture; toss to coat. Press firmly in pan. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.