About 3:00 in the afternoon, I hear from the wee-ones in our house, “What are we having for snack?”. You too?
Just as I want to provide them with healthy meals throughout the day, I want them to have wholesome snacks too. One of our favorites is granola bars.
Knowing that I could make them much cheaper than the boxed versions from the local supermarket (and yummier too), I set out looking for recipes. Nothing was perfect for our taste buds. So, as I often do, I combined several, tweaked the amounts, and changed up the process.
So without further ado…here is my Homemade Granola Bars recipe.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies (or Crispy Rice if you purchase the off brand)
1 1/2 cup Granola (can also use plain rolled oats)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raisins, cran-raisins, coconut, or other dried fruit (optional)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (more or less to taste, optional)
Click to print the Granola Bar recipe.
Directions:
Since I make granola every other week for the hubby and kiddos, we always have a fresh batch available for granola bars. If you haven’t made it, you wouldn’t believe how easy it is…and so much cheaper than the premade versions. Of course if you don’t have granola readily available, you can use regular rolled oats as well.
In a microwavable bowl, add the brown sugar. Be sure to pack it in. 🙂
One note…you may be tempted to adjust the sugar and peanut butter amounts in this recipe but be careful not to skew the ratio too much. It is important to have the correct amount of dry vs liquid ingredients.
Place the ingredients in the microwave for 1 minute.
Hi! We made these this morning…the kids had a blast, and we love the taste. However, even though I packed it in tightly and let it cool completely, it just crumbles apart when I try to cut it into bars. The only thing I did differently was use 1/2 cup of chopped nuts instead of the 1/2 cup of dried fruit. Any ideas of what I should do differently to get it to stick together?
Erin – Try cutting back on the "liquid" ingredients just a bit or add a little more granola. I have found that the humidity affects them too. Sometimes we just eat it with a spoon. This typically happens when I haven't measured well. 🙂
Great, will try that! Thanks!
I want to omit the peanut butter. How do I adjust the recipe for this?
Hmmmm…I am sorry. I don't know what you would do instead because the pb is used as a liquid and you need that for them to stick together.