Granola Bars {No-Bake}

By á-25138

Homemade granola bars are a blank canvas. You can add whatever sounds good and the combinations are endless. Most granola bar recipes call for peanut butter {which I would prefer} and loads of nuts, but I prefer more-so that my child remains breathing. I was excited to give this peanut-free recipe a try. These are surprisingly fast to make, only needing to bubble for two minutes once the butter and sugar have melted. The best part for me is finally having granola bars my son can eat!!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal
• 2 Tbsp wheat germ
• 1 1/2 Tbsp milled flax seed
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

Details

Adapted from stellabskitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Combine oats, cereal, wheat germ and flax in a bowl. Set aside. Butter a 9x9 inch pan (or half of an 11x13 inch pan). Melt butter, brown sugar and honey in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Once bubbling, reduce heat and cook for two minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour liquid over dry ingredients and stir to coat. Add most of the chocolate chips (save
about 2 Tbsp for the top) and barely stir to combine. Gently press granola into pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips and press a little more firmly to sink chocolate chips. Allow to cool completely before cutting to desired size. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.


*Use whatever combination of oats you have. Two cups quick cooking oats would have been fine, but I like the texture of the whole oats. Granola bars will still turn out without wheat germ and milled flax. Feel free to omit them if you like. Chocolate chips melt quickly in the hot granola, so you may want to only add them to the top. Be careful not to pack the bars too much before the chips are added on top as the chocolate chips won't sink down and stay on the bars when you eat them.