gorilla munch cereal bars

ONE OF our very favorite third graders took a tumble last week and broke BOTH of his arms. Yeah. Rough. But he’s a trooper and is in excellent spirits despite not being able to scratch his own face or feed himself because of the two casts that run from shoulder to fingers on both arms. Gah. Poor kiddo and poor mama who has been kicked back to exhausting newborn baby mode, helping her previously independent 8-year-old navigate this unfamiliar helplessness [temporarily, thank goodness]. They are def going to need our support in lots of ways over the weeks to come, but today I started with just a little happy treat to try to brighten their hearts. I’m bringing dinner and the largest bottle of wine I can find for mama and these Gorilla Munch Cereal Bars for the intrepid patient.

THE BARS were inspired by Christina Tosi’s amazing Milk Bar Kids Only Cookbook, which is a treasure trove of creative and over-the-top fun recipes for everything from Fluffernutter Cookie Sandwiches to Corn Dog Waffles to Popcorn Shakes. Christina Tosi started the Milk Bar bakery in NYC in 2008 and has turned baking upside-down with her now-famous inside-out Birthday Cakes and a coveted recipe for the sweet, delicious Cereal Milk that pools at the bottom of your cereal bowl. Milk Bar Kids Only is all about using super appealing nostalgic ingredients that are all readily available so just about everyone can find them AND making things as fun as possible (healthy, not so much, but REALLY fun). If you’re a fan of cooking shows or even just interesting stories, her episode on Chef’s Table: Pastries was super inspiring and fun to watch. And the book is a great read for kids and adults alike. I have gifted it to a few of my favorite kiddo bakers, who loved it, and so I finally bought a copy just for me (I told you I’m all about the one for you, one for me style of gifting, right?).

SO, THIS recipe for EXTRA sweet + gooey Gorilla Munch Cereal Bars is not in the book, but she has a bunch of other awesome cereal bars (like these Coco Cabana Cereal Squares) and I just adapted it. Here’s the recipe for what I made, but feel free to sub any kind of cereal you like and mix in just about anything you want. It’s a very loose, sky’s-the-limit kind of a treat. And it starts with a big pile of marshmallows and butter, so you know it’s going to be good no matter what.

Gorilla Munch Cereal Bar Recipe

INGREDIENTS

5 tbsp butter (save the paper!)
1 bag of marshmallows
1 cup mini marshmallows
8 cups of cereal (I ended up using about 6 cups of Gorilla Munch and 2 cups of Rice Chex; Kix would also be perfect and a little less sweet)
rainbow sprinkles! (our guy DEF needs them, but they’re optional)

DIRECTIONS

Coat your 11x13 baking pan with cooking spray
Put the marshmallows and butter in a giant microwave-safe bowl and zap for 2 minutes. The marshmallows will puff up so make sure there’s space in the bowl or you’ll end up with a doozy of a mess.
Mix the butter and ‘mallows and then zap for another minute if necessary until they’re smooth and all combined
Add the cereal to the bowl and mix until well coated
Add the mini marshmallows and mix
Spread into the pan using the butter paper to smooth it all down (it was seriously worth the cost of the book to learn this trick from Christina’s grandma - did you already know this?!)
Shake on the sprinkles
Let cool until firm and then just try not to make yourself sick nibbling one fun little Gorilla Munch ball at a time until they’re all gone

I’M HOPEFUL these fun little bars will bring a smile to our sweet buddy’s face. Now if only I could feed them to him for his tired mama, it would be a real home run. We love you, M3! Hang in there. GIFT A LITTLE HAPPINESS. xo