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.
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!
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!
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.
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
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. 😉
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.
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/