Copycat Kudos Granola Bars
I was OBSESSED with the Kudos Granola Bars as a kid. My personal favorite was the M&M one. They are sweet, chewy, and my favorite part was that I could successfully convince my parents to let me have this “granola bar” for breakfast 😂
This copycat recipe is even better than the original bars we all had back in the day. While I don’t believe these are totally discontinued…I do know that they are much harder to find. So lucky for you and I, this recipe will suffice 🙂
Copycat Kudos Granola Bars Key Ingredients
- Rice Krispies – The Rice Krispies add a perfect crunchiness and of course – crispiness to this recipe while. They’ll snap, crackle, and pop while mixing everything together just to show off.
- Rolled Oats – While these wouldn’t be granola bars without oats, they also help provide a nice chewiness. Aside from the texture that oats bring, they also have that familiar, toasty flavor.
- Brown Sugar – Brown Sugar is here to pack an overall Oh. My. Gosh. sensation with every bite. This will enhance our flavor, texture, sweetness, and moisture.
- Honey – These Kudos bars need a kick of sweetness to really make them pop. That’s where our honey comes in. Not only does the honey give them that deliciously chewy texture, but it also helps adhere everything together.
- Light Corn Syrup – A bit of corn syrup helps to contribute to the overall moisture and sweetness to these copycat Kudos granola bars.
Recipe Tips and Variations
The longer you let these Copycat Kudos Granola Bars chill, the easier they will be to cut. It’s best to use a very sharp knife to get the smoothest edges and overall, most evenly cut bars. Slicing the bars right after they’ve been placed in the pan will result in them either falling apart or not cutting as easy.
While this recipe calls for salted butter, you can absolutely use unsalted butter if that’s what you prefer or all you have on hand. The salted butter adds a nice balance to offset the amount of sweetness packed into these bars. If you do use unsalted butter, feel free to add about 1/4 tsp. of salt to the brown sugar and butter mixture.
If you decide to cut this recipe in half, I recommend preparing them in a square 9″ x 9″ pan. This should result in 8 even bars. But who are we kidding…double the recipe. They’re THAT good 🙂 I promise.
The original Kudos Granola Bars that we all remember as kids came in three flavor variations; Dove Milk Chocolate Drizzle, M&M, and Snickers. My personal favorite as a kid was the M&M. For this recipe, I kept the Mini M&M’s version while substituting the Dove chocolate for the semi-sweet chocolate I had on hand. And also substituting the snickers for crushed peanuts on top. You can 100% make these your own. In fact I encourage it! Get creative and share your results with me on social media @thesqueakymixer 🙂
My favorite chocolate to bake with is semi-sweet but you can substitute this for milk chocolate or dark chocolate. Just note that semi-sweet chocolate will give you the best results for replicating these as close to the original Kudos Bars as possible.
View More Brownies & Bars Recipes…
I hope you’re enjoying trying out the recipes and ideas I’ve shared😊 It would bring me so much joy to see your wonderful creations! If you make something inspired by my suggestions or recipes, please share it on social media and tag me @thesqueakymicer – I can’t wait to see what you’ve made!
Copycat Kudos Granola Bars
16
servings3
hoursKeep the screen of your device on.
Ingredients
4 cups 4 rice krispies
2 cups 2 rolled oats
3/4 cups 3/4 brown sugar
8 Tbsp. 8 salted butter
1/2 cup 1/2 honey
4 Tbsp. 4 light corn syrup
1/4 cup 1/4 peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup 1/4 mini M&M’s
1 1/2 cups 1 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
2 Tbsp. 2 coconut oil
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the rice krispies and oats. Set aside.
- In a medium sized pot, combine the brown sugar, butter, honey, and corn syrup. Place over medium heat and bring to a rapid bubble. Let bubble for about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove the brown sugar mixture from the heat then pour over the krispie and oat mixture.
- Use a silicone spatula to combine everything together evenly.
- Pour the mixture into a 9″ x 13″ lightly greased pan fit with parchment paper.
- Use the back of a measuring cup to flatten the mixture firmly into the pan.
- Allow these to cool and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Once the bars are chilled, cut them into even bars. If you’ve used a 9″ x 13″ pan you should end up with 16 bars.
- Place the bars onto parchment paper to keep your work surface clean. Then melt down the chocolate and coocnut oil in 30 second intervals, mixing between each until the chocolate is nice and smooth.
- Dip the bottom of each bar into the chocolate allowing the excess chocolate to drip off. You only want about 1/8″ dipped on the sides. Place the dipped bars back onto parchment paper to set. The bars will set faster in the fridge too!
- Add mini M&M’s to the top of some of the bars, and crushed peanuts on some more. You can leave some without a topping too.
- Once you’ve topped all of the bars that you want, place the leftover chocolate into a piping bag and drizzle chocolate on top of each one. You can pop the chocolate back in the microwave for another 15 seconds before doing this if needed too.
- Allow the chocolate on top to set and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @thesqueakymixer on Instagram! I love to see what you all create.
Do these need to be refrigerated
Hi there! I recommend storing these in an air tight container or ziplock bag in the fridge for up to a week 🙂
How are they supposed to be like the original kudos bars if they need to be cold 🙁 that kinda ruins the vibe
Chilling them only helps them set and to make a cleaner cut 🙂 They can and should be enjoyed at room temperature!
Very simple to make and yummy. Definitely honey forward. Only comment is, how do we store and how long are they good for? Didn’t see that imformation anywhere. Thank you!
Thank you so much! 🙂 These are good for up to one week stored in the fridge. Either in a ziplock baggie or air tight container. They can last up to 2 months in the freezer in an air tight container or baggie as well 🙂 I hope this helps! Thank you for the wonderful review 🙂