Recipes Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Energy Bars 5.0 (248) Add your rating & review These honey-flavored cereal bars with puffed rice and toasted oats, from Real Snacks by Lara Ferroni, make a great substitute for store-bought energy bars. They can be made with almost any mix of nuts and dried fruit. Slideshow: Tasty Snack Bar Recipes By Food & Wine Editors Updated on February 16, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Ryan Liebe Active Time: 20 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Yield: 12 bars Ingredients 1 cup pecans (crushed) 1 cup rolled oats ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds ¼ cup flaxseeds ⅔ cup muscovado or dark brown sugar ½ cup honey 4 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups puffed rice cereal ½ cup dried cranberries Directions Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the pecans, oats, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds on the sheet and bake until fragrant, 8 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. In a saucepan, bring the sugar, honey, butter and salt to a boil over moderate heat. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and a light brown caramel forms, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Drizzle the caramel all over the nut-and-oat mixture. Stir in the puffed rice and cranberries until evenly coated. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, extending the paper over the side. Scrape the cereal mixture into the dish in an even layer. Cover the mixture with a second sheet of parchment and press down to compress it. Let stand until firm, about 2 hours. Discard the top piece of parchment. Using the overhanging paper, lift out the cereal square and transfer it to a work surface. Cut into 12 bars and serve. Rate it Print