Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Healthy Chewy Granola Bars

No more Quacker Oats bars chucked full of preservative's. I finally found a recipe that I really like. They're healthy and the kids and my husband love them. You can monkey with this recipe as much as you want.

Here it is.......
Chewy granola bars {Makes 8 Bars}

2 cups of quick oats
3/4 c wheat germ
2/3 c sucatant (or brown sugar) I tried to leave this out all together but when I did they were too crumbly and the bars fell apart.
1/2 c Raw honey
2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 table butter ( you can try to substitute this with coconut oil or something if you want. I haven't yet)

Any add ins you want. I add 1/2 c of chopped peanuts and a 1/2 c each of flax seed and chocolate chips. I've also added unsweetened flaked coconut. Raisins or any dried fruit would work also.

Brown the oatmeal, wheat germ and any nuts and seeds your adding in a large sauce pan. All you want to is release any oils in it. You'll start to smell the aroma of the nuts.

In a separate pan heat the remaining ingredients (honey,butter,sucatant,vanilla,salt) and bring to a boil. Then remove it from the heat and add it to your dry ingredients.

Now mix in your add ins. If your adding chocolate chips let the mixture cool a little first. Not all the way though.

Spray the bottom of an 8x8 pan with olive oil or line with wax paper. Firmly press the mixture into the pan. It's kinda like making rice Krispy treats. Let it cool on the counter for a few hours then cut into bars. You can wrap the bars in wax paper, plastic wrap or snack bags individually. Then store them in an air tight container. They will get harder over time. I make a double batch in a 9x13 pan and they are gone before the the week ends. :)