Successful Imitations

Weekends: They are a special time no doubt – some people wake up lazy to breakfast in bed, some people do not wake till the afternoon, some people go to sport – Me? I wake at 5am like my body clock makes me every day every week as usual, eat my breakfast after lolling around at around 6:30am and then go into the kitchen to bake – these home made LCM bars I made this morning were finished by 7:30am – talk about timing 😉

I do believe everyone with a loving childhood has heard of LCM Bars – You know, Kellogg’s delicious excuse for children eating rice bubbles and/or coco pops in a bar form? I personally adored, no adore, LCM bars – they are sweet and sticky in every bite and when you got a chocolate chip – OH MY!

My only concern back then and even now was that the add-ins they put into this bar were scarce – I mean, a scattering of chocolate chips on top but none inside, coco pops dominating over chocolate rocks – seriously, not happy chappy (another phrase I have now gotten out of my system!)

Now that I can say I have a little experience in my baking, I decided to make my own recipe for LCM bars the way I should have been eating them in my childhood should my mum had been an overly obsessed baker like myself.

This recipe is great, if I do say so myself – it is sweet, sticky and filled to the brim with literally WHATEVER you want! While I was making this recipe I got thinking, now-a-days there are Milo bars, Nutri-Grain, crunchy nut, K-time and the list just goes on and on and on! So I made this recipe highly adaptable and flexible so it became a homemade cereal bar which could be LCM style, honey joys in bar form or any other bar – I love the fact that with this recipe YOU choose!

Standard LCM Bar Recipe
Source: Original Recipe By Choc Chip Uru

Makes: Approximately 30-40 pieces depending on what size you cut

Ingredients

• 90g butter (use shortening instead if you want a white bar)
• 200g marshmallows (do not use coloured if you want a white bar) – I recommend using flavoured
• 4 cups rice bubbles/coco pops
• 2-3 cups add ins (I used 8 crushed up S’mores Pop Tarts)
• Melted chocolate to drizzle (optional)

Method

1. Line a large tine with baking paper, making sure it is overhanging on the sides – no need to grease
2. In a large bowl, combine rice bubbles and add-ins until thoroughly mixed together
3. Over medium-low heat, stir butter and marshmallows constantly until smooth and no lumps remain
4. This is where you must be fast since marshmallow sets quick – immediately pour marshmallow mixture into cereal mixture and mix to combine thoroughly
5. Slightly grease hands and push mixture into prepared tin until neat (the marshmallow may stick to your hands a little)
6. Refrigerate for 15 minutes
7. If desired to make the bar look a little prettier, drizzle with melted chocolate. Let set in fridge for 1/2 hr
8. Take out of tin using baking paper and then cut into squares. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container until needed (if especially hot and humid, store in fridge)

Adaptation Notes:

• Add-Ins – Get creative – use nuts, chocolate/toffee etc chips, dried fruit, chocolate rocks, chopped/grated chocolate, chopped up lollies/chocolate bars etc. – the possibilities are endless 🙂
• Variation #1 – Caramel Crunchy Nut – Instead of marshmallows, increase butter to 100g and melt approximately 150g worth of Pascal’s Columbines (or Kraft’s caramels) until smooth and mix into cornflakes and crushed unsalted peanuts
• Variation #2 – Nutrigrain Chocolate Bars – Use 80g butter with 200g milk and dark chocolate (100g each) and mix into nutrigrain (with chocolate chips if desired) – store in fridge
• Variation #3 – Milo Bars – Same as the above but use Milo cereal instead of Nutrigrain – if using Milo cereal DUO, then can also use white chocolate – store in fridge
• Variation #4 – Non Cereal Lovers – Omit the cereal and just mix marshmallow mixture into crushed up Oreos or any other cookies – it will be chewy and delicious!

This recipe or any of its variations would be perfect for a bake sale or party since it keeps out of the fridge, can be made on the spur of the moment and tastes absolutely divine! Whip up a batch now because I know you can 🙂

P.S This bar is in so many categories since it can be adapted to be part of any of them 😀