Chocolate Cereal Breakfast Bars

1 . Stage

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 pan with butter and line with parchment paper.

2 . Stage

Combine rolled oats, puffed brown rice cereal, almonds, coconut, cocoa powder, salt, and cayenne in a bowl.

3 . Stage

Combine brown sugar, maple syrup, vegetable oil, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir, and let the mixture boil for 1 minute.

4 . Stage

Pour sugar mixture over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix thoroughly. Transfer to the prepared pan, and smooth out the top, pressing lightly with a spatula.

5 . Stage

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. While still hot, use a spatula to score the pan into 8 portions. Let cool to room temperature before breaking into bars. You can also not score, and simply let cool, then cut with a knife. Chef John