Raisin-Oat Cereal Bars

One of my new projects is cleaning up my cookbook and magazine collection so that I can fit everything on my bookshelves. As if my three bookshelves weren't enough, they are also scattered under the bed, on the couch, piled by the couch, in the kitchen drawers, and on the stairs. It's definitely time to streamline them and get organized.


Just yesterday, I started with my cooking magazines. Years upon years of subscriptions to Martha Stewart's Living Magazine.

My husband conveniently said "Just throw them away."

"Yeah right", I thought to myself. As if.

At any rate, I got them all out and littered them all over my living room floor. Martha's shining face was everywhere. I don't think my husband was very pleased to spend a Sunday afternoon in this fashion, but I know that I sure enjoyed myself! Sitting on the living room floor, I leisurely perused magazine after magazine, page after page, reveling in the idea of recipes and how they've changed over the past two decades. Some of the magazines predated the start up of the Food Network, back before food and cooking were as popular as they are today. It was fascinating and nostalgic, kind of like flashing back at food and how it's changed over the years.

Along the way, I found several more recipes to try, one of them was this recipe for Raisin-Oat Cereal Bars. I'm not sure why hours of looking at magazines resulted in me fixating on this one simple recipe, but it did. I dogeared this page four years ago, back before my son was born and also back before I even knew what a blog was. Back then I was just as passionate about food, but had no one to share it with. As I made these bars, I was thinking about how grateful I am to be part of the food blogging community, where others share the same passion as I do.

In a large saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and a 10 ounce bag of marshmallows over medium heat; stirring occasionally, until marshmallows have melted,about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Once marshmallow mixture has melted, remove from heat and add in 6 cups of Cheerios and 1 cup of dried cranberries or raisins.

Quickly incorporate the Cheerios and dried cranberries/raisins.

Pour the mixture into a 10x15 rimmed baking sheet (I used a 9x13), that has been lined with waxed paper and has either been sprayed with cooking spray, or coated in butter. Let sit for up to 1 hour before serving.

Notes/Results: Move over Rice Krispy Treats! These are just as tasty and a little healthier. The whole family enjoyed these and I can see myself making these often. So glad I took the time to go through those old cooking magazines and remove the recipes I want to try.

Nutritional Info (Makes 24 bars), Per Bar: 97 calories, 2.4 grams fat, 1.1 grams protein, 19.3 grams carbs, 1.2 grams fiber
WW points = 2

I wanted to take this time to say Thank you! It really means a lot that somewhere out there, there are people who feel just like I do. People who would be just as floored at the suggestion of throwing away cookbooks or cooking magazines. Those of you who would be just as excited to sit on the floor and go through decades of old cookbooks and cooking magazines. I wish we could sit together and point out recipes, the ones we wanted to try and the ones where we would laugh and say "what were they thinking with that one?" I thought of all of you yesterday. Yesterday, when my husband and my Mom laughed at me for hoarding cookbooks. When they called me ridiculous and laughed in unison. I thought of all of you and I was so happy. So happy that somewhere you were all out there and understood exactly.