Meals from the Mountain

Mom's Special K Bars

recipe by tieghan gerard
photography by tieghan gerard

Mom's Special K Bars

recipe by tieghan gerard
photography by tieghan gerard

Sometimes it’s the simplest of recipes that truly are the best. My mom’s Special K bars will forever be one of my favorite desserts—and others feel the same way. My brother Malachi will jump through hoops just to get a K bar in his hand! These are without a doubt the most requested dessert Mom or I have ever made. Bring them to a party and they’ll be the first dessert gone. I have no idea why my mom calls these “Special K” bars since she’s always used cornflakes, but why change the name now? The only thing I changed from her original recipe was to replace the corn syrup with a combo of honey and maple syrup. No one can tell the difference, but Mom and I both feel a million times better serving and eating a slightly healthier version of our favorite dessert!

Ingredients
  • Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • ½ cup honey
  • ½ cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 6 heaping cups cornflakes
  • 3 or 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted


Print Recipe
  1. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large pot, combine the peanut butter, honey, maple syrup, and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture begins to bubble and the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes—be careful not to let the peanut butter burn. Remove the pot from the heat and immediately stir in the cornflakes. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  3. Put the chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Spread the melted chocolate in an even layer over the peanut butter-cornflake mixture. Tap the pan against the counter to smooth if needed. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to harden for at least 2 hours.
  4. Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving. Cut into bars and devour!
    5. MAKES 18 TO 20 BARS

NOTE: While 3 cups of chocolate chips is really plenty, my family loves a thick layer of chocolate so I typically use 3½ to 4 cups. Quadruple yum.

Half Baked Harvest

Reprinted from Half Baked Harvest Cookbook. Copyright © 2017 by Tieghan Gerard. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

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