Homemade Granola Bars: Two Ways

Granola Bars: Two Ways

Today we decided to make granola bars. Purchased granola bars tend to be pricey, so we wanted to create these healthy, delicious treats ourselves. Much like our oatmeal, we have different preferences, so of course we made two types of granola bars. We made a chocolatey granola bar to satisfy those with a sweet tooth as well as a granola bar with raisins and Craisins to satisfy those who like a fruity kick. If you need a snack, these granola bars are the prefect treat. In our recipe, we cooked the granola bars for about 10 minutes at 300F. For the future, we would recommend baking them for about 7 minutes since ours were slightly overcooked. Enjoy!

Granola Bars: Two Ways

Yields approximately 6 servings

Cooks for approximately 7 minutes

1.) Dried Fruit & Nut Bars

Ingredients

            1/2 cup almonds

            1/4 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)

            1/4 cup raisins

            1/4 cup walnuts
            1/2 cup crispy rice cereal

            1/4 cup honey

            1/8 tsp cinnamon

            1/4 tsp vanilla extract

            1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, melted

2.) Chocolate, Coconut & Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients

            3 tbsp semi-sweet or dark chocolate                       chips

            1/4 cup sliced/chopped almonds

            2 tbsp coconut flakes

            1/2 cup crispy rice cereal

            1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

            1/4 cup creamy peanut butter,                       melted

            1/8 tsp cinnamon

            1/4 tsp vanilla extract

            2 tsp cocoa powder

            1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2.  Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Microwave the peanut butter for about 20 seconds so that it is melted.
4. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl—honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and/or peanut butter. 
5. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl—almonds, walnuts, cranberries, raisins, rice cereal, chocolate chips, oats, and/or coconut flakes.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly together until granola sticks together.
7. Spread granola mixture with a spatula evenly across tray lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake granola bars in oven for approximately 7 minutes, or until lightly golden. This step ensures that the bars will mold together, although the honey and peanut butter act to bind the components as well.
9. Remove bars from oven. Let cool until room temperature. Slice into rectangular bars and serve.
10. Granola bars will taste best if eaten on the first day after baking them but may be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.