Oh Henry Bars

I often forget about the complete variety of candy that is out there. How many of us are guilty of buying the popular candy that is displayed at the cash register at the store? There are many other great candies out there but you just forget about them, except once in a while where you explore the candy aisle (or end-cap, which is the case at my local grocery store) and look for something different. You might come across Oh Henry Bars. They’ve been around since 1920, but you probably don’t see them too often.

This bar is inspired by the Oh Henry bar. The ingredients are different, but you get the chocolate, and the peanut flavor and they chewiness of the original candy bar. These are a no bake cookie, perfect for those folks who are lucky enough to have sunny weather where they live. We’re getting close in the Pacific Northwest. We’ve started to have stretches of nicer weather so there’s hope that it will be summer soon!

These, like other crispy rice treat concoctions, are quick and easy to put together. You mix everything in a saucepan. The larger your saucepan, the easier these will be to mix together. One nice feature of these bars versus other crispy rice treats is that they don’t use marshmallows. So vegetarians can eat these with no concerns. The brown sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter make them plenty gooey and these bars are so good. My husband commented that the “peanut butter crispy rice things” were so tasty and super addictive. 

Oh Henry Bars

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal

2 cups chocolate chips

1 tablespoon shortening

Grease a 9” x 13” baking pan; set aside. 

In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar and corn syrup; stir to combine.  Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.  Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth.  The heat of the mixture will melt the peanut butter and make it smooth.

Add the crispy rice cereal and stir until completely coated.  Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan.  Allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Combine the chocolate chips and shortening in a large bowl.  Microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.  Evenly spread over bars.  Allow the chocolate to cool slightly and set, but cut into squares while still warm.  Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving.

Recipe from Eat Cake for Dinner