This post is brought to you by CafeMom and Chex TM. All opinions are my own.
When my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease, our world was turned upside down. My repertoire of quick recipes was turned upside down; no more quick meals of spaghetti or grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. Worse, none of our extended family understood. When we had our holiday get togethers, my mother in law would routinely fix Brittany some of her favorite dishes; lemon pie, coconut cake and chicken casserole. All she heard was “cut out flour;” forgetting that the cream of chicken soup had flour and so did graham cracker crusts. Thankfully, I was able to make her favorite Five Layer Bars, substituting Gluten Free Corn TM Chex cereal for the graham cracker crust.
These bars are the perfect mix of sweet and salty and are so versatile! The recipe originally called for chocolate chips, but since Bryan has a chocolate allergy, which in my opinion is the worst allergy ever, I substitute vanilla chips or peanut butter chips. Or, when I get wild and crazy, I add both! I start by making a crust of crushed Corn TM Chex and butter, which I spread into a 8” by 8” pan. You can crush the Corn TM Chex easily by placing it in a blender for 10 to 15 seconds. Sometimes, if I need stress relief, I place the Corn TM Chex in a plastic baggie and crush them with a large spoon.
Once the crust is spread across the bottom, top with one can of condensed milk. Now comes the fun part; choosing the toppings. Depending on my mood and what’s in my cabinet, I add peanut butter chips, vanilla chips, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, marshmallows, nuts or coconut. In this batch I used vanilla and butterscotch chips, along with mini marshmallows. The bars need to bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the top is browned and firm. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.
- 4 cups Gluten Free Corn TM Chex, crushed
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¾ cup EACH; butterscotch chips and vanilla chips
- 1 ½ cups mini marshmallows
- 1 can (8 ounces) condensed milk
- Mix the crushed Corn TM Chex and butter together until blended. Spread across the bottom of a greased 8” by 8” pan. Pour condensed milk evenly over the Corn TM Chex mixture. Top with mini marshmallows, then butterscotch and vanilla chips. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until top is browned and firm. Allow to cool completely and slice into bars.
Corn TM Chex works in many of my other recipes too! I use it as a Gluten Free crust for chicken, to make Gluten Free snack mix or just for a quick breakfast. Do you have a favorite Gluten Free Corn TM Chex recipe?
Oh I’ll bet that butterscotch just melts in your mouth. What a treat.
Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe. My daughter had a friend that was diagnosed with celiac and it totally changed the way we eat as well as she spends a lot of time with our family.
Recently my niece needed to go gluten free and she loves sweets. I’m sending to my sister-in-law to make for her!
My goodness! This five layer bars looks so delicious and healthy. It looks like an so easy to prepare recipe. Great to know that it is gluten free as well. I always prefer this kind of healthy snacks for my kids. Would love to try this for sure. Thanks a lot for this yummy idea.
I’ve been wanting to make my own bars. I should try this out too!
The gluten free five layer bars I think would make a perfect school snack or a after school snack. I have to start thinking of snacks to stock up on for when Bella goes back to school. I bet she would love this I just wouldn’t tell her it was gluten free
This looks soo yummy! I’m glad it’s gluten free. We have lots of gluten free friends at church, so I’ve been trying to keep track of recipes for them.
These look so delicious and easy to make. I will have to try making this on the weekend. I am sure it will be a big hit.
This is a cool way to eat the Chex Mix cereal! Innovative I bet these taste yummy too!
This looks so yummy. I grew up eating Chex cereal and I am happy to see that it is GF. I am finding that too much in my meals causes me serious stomach upset.
Those looke so yummy. We love Chex in this house.
Oh these look SO good. I love that there are different GF options to make. I’m not GF but I find SO many of the recipes to be soooo good that I enjoy making them. These look great!
This looks just as good as the gluten kind! I would love serving this dessert when we have friends over
There are so many great Gluten-free options nowadays, and that’s a very good thing. I would love to give these a try, they just look delicious!
These sound like a nice snack that the kids can help make! They love to get involved in the kitchen!
I’m sure it’s hard to not be able to eat your favorite foods. I think it’s wonderful you were able to make a gluten free version using Chex.
What a clever use for Chex Mix, I usually only do the mixes. I am definitely going to have to try these, since they are GF I usually eat them plain as a snack when I am busy.
Nice! I love that they are gluten free, and they look like they are a great to go bar on a busy day!
These five layer bars look so yummy. I love that they are available in a gluten free variety for those on modified diets.
My husband has been trying to cut down on gluten, so this is a perfect recipe for him. Great for his sweet tooth and for his health!
Yum! What a great recipe! I have this cereal in my pantry, I so need to make this!
What butterscotch chips did you use? The ones I’ve found contain barley…
I used the Hershey’s butterscotch. They are listed as gluten free on the Hershey’s website.
Gluten free doesn’t have to mean boring does it? These look yummy.
Oh wow, I will have to try these. I love these kind of bars!
These look yummy. I plan on starting my gluten free diet tomorrow. I feel so much better when I stick to it. Thanks for the recipe.
These look so tasty! The vanilla chips sound delicious!
I could go for this right now. So cool and tasty.
I love seeing yummy gluten free options and this looks delicious. I cannot wait to give them a try.
I love finding GF recipes. I try and find the GF recipes with no dairy and send them to one of my daycare moms. It’s tough to find good recipes.
Mmm, that butterscotch/vanilla combo sounds really nice. I’d love to try some of these.
Oh those look so delicious! Will send the recipe to a friend that is gluten free… but I bet I would like them just as much as her!
That looks so good. I love that it is easy to make. I need to try this.
Well you had me at condensed milk, you simply can’t go wrong with that…LOL! These look yummy.
Oh yum! I think my mom used to make something like this. I was never home when she did but it sounds really familiar!
Those look delectable! I don’t need to eat GF only to enjoy these with friends.
Yum – love the white chocolate and butterscotch chips on top. My family would devour this for sure.
Me too! They are great in rice krispies treats as well!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Now I can serve up some deliciousness for my gluten-free friends at my parties.
Those look fantastic! I’m going to go on record now as saying that you are a gluten-free nom nom guru.