Bride of Magazine Challenge: Cherry-Oat Cereal Bars

So.
In my high school, there were 2 things worth buying to my 16 year old mind:  the fries and gravy and the Rice Krispie squares.  If you timed it right before second period, the rice krispie squares would still be warm in their saran wrappings.  Delicious.
I haven't had a Rice Krispie square in years.  I usually choose a baked good that doesn't include marshmallows.  But when I saw these in the September 2006 issue of Everyday Food, I thought that they'd be worth a second look.
These are a square that I can take in my lunch to work - no peanut products in sight.  They're also a little different with the Cheerios instead of the typical Rice Krispies.  The dried cherries make them a little more high-brow.  I would love to put chocolate chips in these, but they'd melt with the warm mixture.  Ah well.  They were good as they are too.
I present to you now from the September 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Cherry-Oat Cereal Bars:

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter
1 bag marshmallows
6 c toasted oat cereal (like Cheerios)
1 c dried cherries

Method:
1.  Grease a 9x13" pan well.  In a large pan, melt butter and marshmallows, stirring frequently until smooth.
2.  Add cereal and cherries, stirring well to coat with marshmallow mixture.  Immediately pour into prepared pan.
3.  With damp fingers, press mixture firmly into pan.  Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

From Everyday Food, September 2006

 As always, I recommend measuring everything out first.  Especially when you're working with something that will stiffen quickly, like the marshmallow mixture.

I used J to hold the pan while I scraped everything into the 9x13 dish.  I used my Dutch oven for this, because I didn't think anything else would be big enough.

In the pan, ready to firm up a bit.  The easiest way to press these in is to wet your fingers and press firmly.  It took very little time, and nothing stuck to my hands as I worked with damp fingers.

I think I liked these better than J.  But we both enjoyed.  The cherries were a nice touch.  Desserts for work.  Hooray!