Soft and chewy granola bars loaded with Snickers then dipped and drizzled in chocolate! A 90’s kid favorite made from scratch!
If you were a 90’s kidlike myself, then you remember the all-important Kudos granola bar. They pretty much reigned supreme in the landof granola bars. Whether they were packed in your lunchbox, or given out to you and your soccer/basketball/baseball/underwater hockeyteam after games, these granola bars always held a special place in your heart. At least, they did for me…
They came in fourdifferent flavors–M&M, peanut butter, chocolate chip, and Snickers. And there was NEVER any shortage of chocolate in these babies. Because not only was there candy mixed into the granola bars themselves, but they were also dipped and drizzled in chocolate. So it shouldn’t take a rocket surgeon to discover why kids loved these bars…they were basically candy bars disguisedas granola bars!
Unfortunately, the Kudos bar became pretty much extinct several years ago and is nolonger gracing the grocery store shelves. That’s why I decided it was time to revive this monumental snackof the 90’s…
It’s like bringing a loved one back to life! (Melodramatic much?) This granola bar has ALLof the scrumptious elements I remember as a kid–a sweet, soft,and satisfyingly chewy mixture of oats and crispy rice cereal, peanutty, chocolatey chunks of Snickers, and that delectable dip and drizzle of chocolate. Biting into one of these bars is like mega-morphingback into childhood.
So how in the world was I able to replicate this long lost granola bar?? Well, first I decided to look up the Kudos bar ingredients list online to get an idea. I remembered these granola bars beinglighter/airier andcontainingmore rice cereal than oats, whichwas correctaccording to the ingredients list. I guess you could say these barswere more like a rice krispies treat with oats thrown in. Thus, I went witha higher ratio of cereal to oats.
As for the rest of the ingredients, I kept it simple by sticking to the basic ingredients you would use inmost homemade granola bars–brown sugar, butter, honey, and vanilla. I also added a littlecorn syrup to ensurethat the bars would hold together once set.
After combining the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, I quickly and sparingly folded in 3/4 of the Snickers chunks. I say “sparingly” because you don’t want to spend too much time stirring at this point as the chocolate and caramel from the Snickers tend to melt into the mixture. You want them to remain as whole as possible.After Ipressed the mixtureevenly into thebaking dish, I sprinkled/pressed the remaining Snickers chunks into the top.
If you were more of a fan of the M&M Kudos bars, feel free to substitute the Snickers for mini M&Ms! Instead of mixing them into the oat mixture, just sprinkle about a 1/2 cup or so on topafter you’ve pressed the mixture into the pan.
Once cooled and cut, I dipped each bar in a shallow bath of melted chocolate, which was then followed up with the iconic Kudos zigzag drizzle. This last step is truly what makes these granola bars LOOK like a Kudos bar.
Whilethese definitely aren’tauthentic Kudos bars, they sure do make a deliciousreplacement. Honestly though, who could really argue with brown sugary granola bars stuffed with Snickers and coated in rich chocolate?
My only hope is that these granola bars fulfill your childhood memories like they have mine!
Soft and chewy granola bars loaded with Snickers then dipped and drizzled in chocolate! A 90's kid favorite made from scratch!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cooling Time 2 hours hrs
Total Time 3 hours hrs
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 16 Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice krispies cereal
- 1 cup quick cook oats
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped Snickers divided
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
Line an 8-inch square dish with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the cereal and oats together in a large bowl; set aside.
In a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat, stir together the brown sugar, butter, honey, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, and continue to stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour overthe cereal-oat mixture, stirring to coat. Once thoroughly combined, quickly toss in 3/4 cup of thechopped Snickers. Avoid stirring too much since they'll start to melt into the mixture.
Press mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle or lightly press remaining Snickers all over the top. Allow to cool completely, about 2-3 hours. Transfercooled slab to a cutting board and cut into bars (about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long).
Line a baking sheet with wax paper. In a shallow dish/bowl, heatthe chocolate chips and coconut oil together in the microwave until smooth and melted. Working one at a time, dip the bottom of each granola bar into the chocolate, then place onto wax-linedbaking sheet.
Once all of the bars have been dipped, transfer the remaining melted chocolate to a small zip-loc bag with the very tip cut off and drizzle thetops of each bar. Refrigerate until chocolate has set. Bars can be wrapped individually with plastic wrap, or stored in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
*If you prefer the M&M Kudos bars, leave out the Snickers and sprinkle about 1/2 cup of mini M&Ms on top of the granola bars after you've pressed the oat mixture into the pan. Dip and drizzle as directed. Same goes for the chocolate chip Kudos bars!
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