Best Granola Bars

I love cereal.  I grew up eating it for breakfast, snacks, sometimes dinner if in a pinch.  BUT, my family doesn’t like cereal.  Are we related??  Sometimes I wonder.  What they do love are granola bars, granola bars, and more granola bars.

I was seriously buying 6-7 boxes of granola bars a week to keep up with my troops.  We consume so many of those things, that I started wondering what was in them.  Well, you can guess…a bunch of ingredients that you can’t even pronounce.  That’s a little scary.  I started doing some research and found a granola bar recipe that I liked and used it religiously for many years.  However, the 2 sticks of butter started to make my husband gain weight.  Ugh.

Time for a new recipe.  I remembered that my mom used to make granola bars when I was in high school, so I got her recipe and made a few changes of my own.  These bars are so good and you can tweak the “mix in ” ingredients to fit your taste.  And here’s the best part…THIS IS A ONE BOWL RECIPE!!!  Here’s how I make mine.

I start with 2 cups of oats…

 

Add 1 cup of flour…

 

Add a 1/2 cup of brown sugar…

 

 

The original recipe called for 1/2 cup vegetable oil, but I substitute 1/2 cup coconut oil.  Put it in the microwave for 20 seconds to liquefy, so it’s easier to measure with a liquid measuring cup.

 

Next, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt…

 

 

Add 1 beaten egg…

 

 

Go ahead and add whatever “mix in’s” that you like.  I added chocolate chips, dried cherries and toasted coconut chips.  I’ve also tried apricots and pumpkin seeds, walnuts and chocolate chips.  Really, the possibilities are endless!

 

 

Mix everything together…

 

 

Oops!  Guess what…I forgot to add the honey!  No worries, this is a one bowl recipe, so I just added it at the end.

 

 

*Quick tip – Make sure when adding honey to a recipe to spray your measuring cup with cooking spray.  The honey just glides out and is much less messy!

Mix all ingredients together until well combined

 

Spread granola bar mixture into a 9 x 13 pan.

 

I like to use a measuring cup to spread the mixture.  Press down gently to ensure that bars are even.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

I wish you could smell these coming out of the oven.  It’s heavenly!

 

These granola bars make the perfect breakfast or after-school snack.  You need to make these now!  Here’s the quick recipe with ingredient list.

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Best Granola Bars

Prep time: 15 min

Servings: 24

Difficulty:  Easy

 

Ingredients:

2 cups whole rolled oats

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

Mix in’s:  1 cup chocolate chips, 1/3 cup chopped dried cherries, 2/3 cup toasted coconut chips

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 min