My good friend here in St Louis, Kim, has been making these amazing granola bars for awhile and every time I would go visit her, I would steal some. She has 7 kids, home-makes everything and with lots of picky eaters, she found a recipe that she modified to be both (fairly) healthy and delicious (especially compared to store-bought granola bars) ! Even better? It is NO-BAKE!! I love things like that. My kids love it too, so finally last month, I asked for the recipe. The recipe makes a lot, and usually lasts us over a week, and the ingredients are probably everything you have in your pantry right now!
Because my youngest, Kaila, is home with me during the day and LOVES to help in the kitchen, she helps me make them.
You first mix the oats, rice crispy cereal and ground flax in a bowl. You can also add coconut flakes to this mix. If you do, increase the peanut butter by a spoonful.
While the dry ingredients are chillin (not literally) to the side, you mix the butter, honey and brown sugar in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Here I am using the Original Spurtle, which is a wooden utensil made by Polder’s Old World Kitchen. The $150 giveaway is still going on until this Friday, so look at THIS post to enter!
Once it gets bubbly, reduce the heat and let it simmer for a couple minutes.
While it is simmering, stir occasionally, then stand back and admire the cuteness of your little helper (and all the oats on the floor! haha).
Add the peanut butter, remove from heat and add vanilla. Then, pour the sugar mixture over the dry ingredients, stirring until everything is coated. Add in about half of the chocolate chips, letting them melt a little as you stir them up. Pour everything out onto a greased cookie sheet and start flattening it all out! Pour the remaining chocolate chips over the top, and flatten some more!
At this point, you want to get out the greased rolling pin and smash the granola bar mixture down into the pan. You want to pack it down really well, so when it cools, you can cut them into bars without them falling apart.
You can also let your helper lick the spoon. All these ingredients are YUM!
Ingredients
- 1 c. butter (can be substituted all or part with coconut oil)
- 1 c. honey
- 1 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. peanut butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 8 c. quick oats
- 4 c. rice crispy cereal
- 1 c. ground flax
- 1 c. mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix oats, rice crispy cereal, and flax. Set aside. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, mix butter, honey and sugar until bubbly. Reduce heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and add peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until peanut butter melts completely. Pour over oats/rice crispy/flax mixture, stirring until everything is coated. Stir in 1/2 c. of the chocolate chips. Pour out on a greased cookie sheet and start flattening out with a greased wooden spoon or rolling pin. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. chocolate chips over top and with a rolling pin, press granola bar mixture down firmly across entire pan, until it is packed down hard. Let cool for an hour or so, then cut into bars and pack into an air-tight container.
Leave a Reply