These no-bake cereal bars make for an easy snack. They are a tasty one, too, with millet and coconut to give substance and flavor.
For the last few months I’ve been playing with variations of no-bake cereal bars. The kids have eaten untold numbers of bars as I try different combinations of brown sugar and honey, different puffed grains, different flavor combinations.
This most recent mixture of coconut and puffed millet was a big hit. The bars were gone within a day.
I think we have a winner.
I find puffed millet at my local health food store, sold in bags in the cereal aisle. I can usually get the bags on sale for about a dollar, making this a fairly reasonably priced snack.
Once the bars have cooled, I wrapped them in plastic wrap to keep them moist and help them hold together a little better. I stored them in the fridge, but I don’t think you need to if you’ll eat them up in a few days.
Coconut-Millet Snack Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 cup puffed millet
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large heavy pot, melt the butter. Add the sugar and honey and cook, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the millet and coconut. Mix well to distribute the sugar mixture throughout the cereal and coconut.
- Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Allow to cool completely.
- Remove the bars from the pan by grasping the edges of the parchment and lifting the entire piece out of the pan.
- Slice into bars and wrap in plastic wrap.
Steph
I’ve always used mason jars to make my salad dressing — they fit on my blender so I can whip dressing and mince herbs and garlic at the same time. It was a little messy for pouring so imagine how thrilled I am now that I found these reCAP’s for Mason Jars. Sure, I had to wait until they were funded on Kickstarter. http://recapmasonjars.com/
Janet Norwood
Hi Jessica…just got some puffed millet on sale and stumbled upon your recipe. Did you use sweetened flaked coconut? I have unsweetened (my son is a diabetic) and figured that would work as well.
Thank you for sharing all your recipes and knowledge!
Janet Norwood
Jessica
It is unsweetened that I have. Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll go fix the post.
Laurie
Is there a way I can cook millet at home rather than buy puffed millet? I just bought a ton at the grocery thinking I would make these for my son’s school lunches and didn’t see that key word- puffed! Devil in the details I guess….any thoughts or should I figure out how to cook millet into some other recipe?
Jessica
@Laurie, I have never bought regular millet. I’m sorry I can’t help you! Google is your friend. 😉
Helen D
Hi Lovely recipe , a bit like a honey joy bar.
I added Pepitas & sunflower seeds( no nuts so kids could take them to school).
I didn’t have enough honey so used 1/2 honey & half golden syrup. It made the recipe a more caramel flavour. I was a bit worried it would fall a part out of the fridge if not cooked , so I baked at 160deg for 20 mins. This just held it together a bit better & crunched them up .
I am going to use less sugar next time. Only my personal preference should turn out the same
Happy cooking
Helen
Rebecca
Do you need to put sugar in this to hold it all together or is it just for sweetening?
Jessica
I tried it in lots of combinations and felt you needed the sugar to help it hold together.
rachel
I picked up a bag of puffed millet at the store yesterday and thought, “what would you do with this stuff? totally unappealing as a cereal”
Now I’ll have to go back and buy a bag because these look like a fun treat!
Cliff
Can you substitute date syrup for sugar to hold it together?
Jessica Fisher
I have never used date syrup, so I have no idea. I’m sorry not to be more help!