Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Bites!

All I have to say about this little Oatmeal snack...is that I'm obsessed. Like seriously, brace yourselves. They are way to delicious to be real. The best part about these Oatmeal Bites is that there are so many variations. You can make them as healthy (or as unhealthy) as you'd like!

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Bites

Ingredients:

2 Cups Quick Oats
1 Cup Crispy Rice Cereal
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Honey
6 Tbs Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
Optional Mix-ins (ideas below)

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt to the sauce pan. While you're doing this and waiting for the mix to boil, stir together the oats and cereal in a separate larger bowl.

2. Continue cooking the sauce mixture over medium heat until it reaches a boil (a small rolling boil that reaches all the way out to the edges) and stir for 2 minutes. It's important to only boil for 2 minutes! I kept a timer going so that it wouldn't overcook- the longer you cook the sauce, the harder these little bites will become once they are done. You can turn down the heat so it will not overflow, but make sure it continues to boil for the full 2 minutes.

3. Pour the sauce over the oats mixture and stir it all together with a spatula.

4. Now add the mix-ins! I separated the oatmeal mix into 5 parts so that I could have 5 different flavors. I added the mix-ins and if the original oat mixture already started to cool, I just popped it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it; do not put it in for too long as, like explained before, if it cooks for too long it will become hard once it's cooled.

5. Lastly, I scooped the mixture with a cookie dough scoop and popped them in a muffin tin as a mold. You can do this, or you can mold them into little balls with  your hands, or even press them into a pan or baking sheet to make granola bars!

That's it! You can eat them warm or cold, you can take them on the go, they're a good breakfast or snack- so many possibilities!

Mix-In Ideas:

Pictured above:

Apple Crisp: Dried Apples and Cinnamon

Raspberry Nut: Chopped Pecans and Raspberry Jam

Coconut Raisin: Shredded Dried Coconut and Raisins

Peanut Butter Chunk: Chunky Peanut Butter- that's it!

Double Choco Chip: Cocoa Powder and Chocolate Chips

Other Mix-In Ideas:

White Chocolate Chips

Butterscotch Chips

Dried Cranberries and other Fruit

Crushed Oreos

Almonds

Flax Seeds

Walnuts

M&M's

Marshmallows

What would be your ideal mix-in combination? A candy store creation with M&M's and marshmallows? A healthy protein bar with peanut butter and flax seeds? Tell me what you would create!

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