IвЂ™m not gonna lie, theyвЂ™re nowhere near your typical wholesome granola bar with their sugar-laden oats and chocolate coatingвЂ¦ One might assume that these bars are straight-up chocolate bars by the looks of them. In fact, the slight bitterness of the semi-sweet chocolate might balance out the sweetness of the overall bar much better than milk chocolate. However, if you want to use semi-sweet/dark chocolate, thatвЂ™s also a great option. Once everything has been coated in chocolate, I tap the fork on the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate, then carefully place the bar onto a lined cookie sheet.ДЄgain, sticking with the original Kudos bar, I coated these вЂњgranolaвЂќ bars in milk chocolate. Trust me, itвЂ™s A LOT less messy this way.ДЄs far as chocolate-dipping goes, IвЂ™ve found that the best way to coat the bars was to lift the bar with one fork, lower the bottom half into the melted chocolate, lift it above the bowl of chocolate, then use a spoon to ladle the melted chocolate over the bar. And since the peanut butter layer softens pretty quickly once itвЂ™s out of the freezer, I would also suggest leaving the pan of bars in the freezer, and dipping 2 or 3 at a time. To make the chocolate-dipping process easier, I highly recommend putting the cut bars into the freezer for at least 30 minutes until the peanut butter layer has firmed up. Any bigger, and youвЂ™ll end up in a sugar coma with how rich these babies are. You should end up with about 16 good-sized bars. Once the bars have firmed up in the refrigerator (or the freezer, if youвЂ™re in a hurry), the entire oat slab is removed from the pan, and theyвЂ™re cut into bars. However, being the crunchy peanut butter lover that IвЂ™ve always been, I would definitely try this recipe again with crunchy peanut butter! For the purposes of sticking with the original, I used creamy peanut butter.

You could say itвЂ™s like a hybrid between a rice crispy treat and a traditional granola bar.ДЄfter the oat mixture is firmly pressed into a parchment paper-lined pan (make sure the pan is lined so that you can remove the bars easily), a hefty amount of peanut butter is spread right on top. What makes the Kudos bar so light, crisp and different from most other granola bars is the fact that it contains more rice cereal than oatsвЂ“double the amount, in fact. And then stir in your dry ingredientsвЂ“oats, crispy rice cereal, and peanuts. ItвЂ™s pretty much a one-saucepan recipe since you combine most of the ingredientsвЂ“butter, honey, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanillaвЂ“in a saucepan. The only part that takes the longest is dipping them into the chocolate. These вЂњgranola barsвЂќ are actually quite simple to make.

They tasted and looked just like the original Kudos bar, however, I wanted to try my hand at the peanut butter one. A couple of years ago, I posted a recipe for Copycat Kudos Granola Bars, only they were the Snickers variety. Now, this isnвЂ™t my first shot at the infamous Kudos bar. However, just because itвЂ™s no longer available in stores doesnвЂ™t mean you canвЂ™t still enjoy one of the best treats of all-time!ДЄlthough itвЂ™s been several years since IвЂ™ve bitten into an authentic Kudos bar, I can say with certainty that these copycat Kudos Peanut Butter Granola Bars are just as delicious, if not MORE so! Most likely, you canвЂ™t find these highly-treasured bars in any of your grocery stores today. Of course, they were usually accompanied with a fruity Squeezit or Capri-Sun!

In fact, the only time I remember eating them was when they were given out after soccer games. For that reason, they were definitely more of a special occasion treat. It was truly the king of all granola bars because it resembled a candy bar more than a granola bar. One treat I remember fondly is the Kudos bar. The 90вЂ™s were also an iconic time for treatsвЂ“DunkarooвЂ™s, Squeezits, Butterfinger BBвЂ™s, Flintstones Push-Ups, Fruit String Things, Trix Yogurt, Waffle Crisp CerealвЂ¦I could go on forever.

(No shade to Gen Z.) Awesome entertainment and toys aside, things were just a lot simpler before the millennium, and I think most of us long for those years when there was less technology and more human connection. IвЂ™m sure every generation believes they grew up in the best decades, and honestly, youвЂ™re probably right as long as you were born before the 2000вЂ™s. I think most of us can agree that the 90вЂ™s were all that and a bag of chips. Soft and chewy granola bars topped with a layer of creamy peanut butterВ and coated in milk chocolate! Relive your childhood with this 90вЂ™s kid classic!

Kudos bars