Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I have been addicted to Foodgawker lately and love to try new things.  B had standardized testing last week at school and the teacher asked for "healthy" snacks to be brought in.  I heard how much sugar (among other things) was in the granola bars you buy at the store so I decided to find a better solution & make my own.  I found a recipe here and added a couple of things to them that I knew B would like.  I've been experimenting by making a half batch one way and another half a different way.  This past one, I melted the marshmallows (like you do for rice crispy treats) and added them into 1/2 of the batch.  I really liked it with the melted marshmallows - but B still likes the whole ones.  I guess I'll be making half batches (to satisfy both of us)!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup crispy rice cereal
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (I just estimate the amount)
Couple handfuls of mini marshmallows

Directions:

1.Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir the oats and rice cereal together; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar, honey, and butter together over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  If you want to melt the marshmallows, I just had a 2nd sauce pan on the burner with them at the same time.    

3. Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour the oat mixture into the prepared pan and press down to ensure that the ingredients are tightly compacted in the pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the miniature chocolate chips and press down on the top lightly with the back of a spoon.

4. Cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.