Any-Cereal Homemade Cereal Bars

USING A DIFFERENT CEREAL? Small / Tiny Cereals (crisped rice, tiny puffed cereal, small fruit-flavored cereal): • Use approximately 5 1/2–6 cups cereal. • These cereals have more surface area and may need slightly more binder relative to their volume. • Fold gently. Large Flake Cereals (corn flakes, bran flakes, large crispy flakes): • Use approximately 6 1/2–7 cups cereal. • Fold VERY gently. Use a large bowl. • Press lightly. The goal is to preserve the flakes. Oat Rings (plain or flavored toasted oat rings): • Use approximately 4 1/2–5 1/2 cups depending on density. • Either marshmallow binder OR the peanut-butter/honey variation can work especially well. Puffed Cereals: • Use approximately 5 1/2–6 cups. • Avoid excessive compression. Very Sweet Cereals: • Do not add additional sugar. • Use vanilla, salt, and brown butter to create depth rather than making the recipe sweeter. Chocolate Cereals: • Consider dark chocolate, sea salt, peanut butter, or hazelnuts as optional complementary additions. • Do not automatically add extra sugar. === PEANUT BUTTER & HONEY ALTERNATIVE FORMULA === BEST FOR: oat rings, denser cereal, less fragile cereal. INGREDIENTS: • 4 1/2–5 cups cereal • 3/4 cup (190 g) creamy peanut butter • 1/2 cup (170 g) honey • 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter • 1 tsp vanilla • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt METHOD: 1. Warm peanut butter, honey, and butter over low heat until smooth. 2. Remove from heat. 3. Add vanilla and salt. 4. Fold into cereal. 5. Press into parchment-lined 8×8 or 9×9 pan. 6. Allow to set. IMPORTANT: This is an ALTERNATIVE FORMULA. Do not combine the marshmallow and peanut-butter formulas. === WHICH BINDER SHOULD I USE? === MARSHMALLOW: • Best for: light cereal, flakes, puffed cereal, dessert-style cereal. • Texture: gooey + crisp. PEANUT BUTTER + HONEY: • Best for: oat rings, dense cereals, breakfast-style bars. • Texture: chewy + nutty. • Contains peanuts. ALLERGEN WARNING: Allergens vary depending on the cereal and optional ingredients selected. Check individual product labels. Do not claim gluten-free merely because a cereal appears oat- or rice-based. STORAGE: Store airtight at room temperature. Best within 2–3 days for marshmallow bars, 5–7 days for peanut butter bars. SCALING PAN GUIDANCE: • 0.5× (8 bars): Smaller pan (loaf pan or 8×8-inch). • 1× (16 bars): 9×9-inch square pan. • 1.5× (24 bars): 9×13-inch pan or split between pans. • 2× (32 bars): Two 9×9-inch pans. Cooking/melting time does not mathematically double. NUTRITION NOTE: Calculated per bar (1/16 of recipe) using the default marshmallow formula with crispy rice cereal as a baseline. Actual nutrition varies depending on cereal and optional additions chosen.