Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

My daughter loves granola bars, but I don’t like the expense of buying  my daughter’s favorite granola bars. I experimented with ingredients while my daughter acted as taste tester. Although she hoped that I would continue to fail, so I would have to keep whipping up new batches for her to try, I finally found a combination that we were both satisfied with. I used organic brown rice syrup, because it does not create the high/crash reaction in my daughter like sugar does. Brown rice syrup is not only a lower glycemic sweetener, it is also less expensive than honey. There are some ingredients that are not found in most pantries, so please adapt this recipe to what you have on hand, it is very forgiving.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup brown rice syrup (or 1/2 cup honey) Reduce brown rice syrup to 1/2 cup to produce a crisper, less sweet bar.

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 Tablespoons coconut oil (or butter) reduce to 2 Tablespoons if you  want a crisper granola bar

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats ( I buy gf oats)

1/4 cup almond meal (or wheat germ if you are not gluten intolerant)

1/4 cup flax seeds

1/4 cup sunflower kernels

1/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or any other flavor)

In a small mixing bowl, combine brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and coconut butter. Add in almond meal. Stir in the oats, sunflower kernels, flax seeds, and cranberries. Fold in chips.

Press into a greased 8 x 12 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. After they are cool, cut into 1 x 4 inch bars. If you try to cut them before they are cool, they will crumble. Makes 12 bars. Store in an airtight container.

Have you come up with a way to make a favorite item a little less expensively or perhaps a little healthier by making it yourself?

This post has been linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, and Tuesday’s At The Table.