I can’t believe I haven’t told you guys about these. I’ve been making these bad boys for over 4 years now. They are my absolute FAVOURITE granola bar, they are SO easy to make & they’re perfect for putting in your purse, tucking in a lunch bag and having on hand for when hunger attacks! They aren’t the healthiest thing, but they’re a lot better than the stuff you buy at the grocery store!
I came across this recipe 4 years ago when I was really, really struggling with my eating (more so than I am now, if you can believe it). My boyfriend (now husband) and I had just moved out together and the food we were making often came from a can, a box or the freezer. I knew this wasn’t the way I wanted to eat, but I didn’t really know where to start.
Enter my friend: her family was in the middle of doing the 100 mile diet and she had to be VERY creative with what they ate. Her kids were also VERY active and got hungry a lot, so she had to have homemade snacks on hand all the time. She said one of her favourite things to make was granola bars!
GRANOLA BARS! What hadn’t I thought of that? Of course you can make your own granola bars. The next day, I googled “homemade granola bars” and found the recipe I’m going to tell you about. The result? Ah-mazing! So good in fact, my husband requested them all the time, along with his friends when they came over. The best part is you can add almost anything you like to this recipe to make them healthier or more chocolate-y or more nutty, etc.
Looking back on it now, I think it is safe to say, this recipe really re-ignited by love for baking. Before this, I had pretty much stopped baking entirely, but once I made these, I remembered how much I loved it. So here you have it folks, the granola bars that changed my life!
2 cups chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)
Optional
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan & set aside.
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter, honey & brown sugar with a wooden spoon. Stir in the chocolate chips (and any other mixin’s you might have) until everything is evenly combined.
Press the mixture into your prepared pan. You want to make sure it is packed in, nice and tight. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until the top is a golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. NOTE: this is the ONE time I actually wait the full time to allow to cool, it is very important with these to wait, otherwise they will crumble
Cut into bars & allow to completely cool before you remove (see note above, same applied here).
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, in the freezer for a couple months!
Enjoy!
Lisa
My Real Life Kitchen 