I had such a great response to my post re: HFCS, that I thought I would post a recipe for y'all.
There were actually two major products that I figured would greatly reduce the consumption of HCFS here in the La Vida Dulce household: Yogurt, and the chewy granola bar.
The Boy and The Girl like to indulge in sweet snacks like any other person. Not to mention that they have been birthed by the Official President of the the Sweet Tooth club.
I have a sweet tooth that is second to no one. Candy Corn, Cotton candy, Circus Peanuts, chocolate....I could go on and on. But I won't.
The point is that they enjoy sweets.
I had been buying "natural" granola bars for them to enjoy, but it turns the only thing natural about those bars is that they are recycled boxes they are packaged in.
I did a little online research and found that there are some recipes for homemade chewy granola bars. The only problem is that they either called for corn syrup or peanut butter. Since I am trying to avoid the whole corn syrup thing, and The Boy is allergic to peanuts I was getting discouraged.
I finally found one that sounded reasonable as far as sugar content. So i tried it.
Oh goodness they are good!
Here is the recipe:
Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
2 1/2 c. Oats - quick rolled oats
1/2 c. Rice Krispies
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Add all of the ingredients and mix together until combined. Press into a square 8×8 pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars.
I doubled the recipe, but other than that i followed it exactly. I used a 13x9 inch pan and i was able to get 22 bar out of it.
Next time I am going to try replacing the butter with almond butter and see how it hold together.
The only other thing i would say is to really press the dough into the pan with wet hands. And be sure to allow it to cool COMPLETELY before cutting them into bars. I tried to cut out a bar when it was still look warm and it fell apart. The dough is a little dry before baking, but really firms up when baked and cooled.
Happy Snacking!
8 comments:
awesome! I've been wanting to make something like this myself. Thanks for posting a recipe for me. We're making your granola again today.
By the way, for those who need to be dairy free, you can find powdered rice milk at some health food stores that seemed to substitute perfectly in the regular granola recipe you posted before. With some certfied gluten free oats I was able to make some for Sarah and she loved it!
I can't WAIT to try these!
Those sound really good!
My daughter loves crunchy granola bars, but I wonder if I made my own if she wouldn't love them? she loves anything we bake together.
Great idea!
Oh, thanks! Both of our kids are allergic to peanuts, so granola bars in general are pretty much out of the question. I'm going to bookmark your recipe & try it soon.
Definitely will have to try these. Thanks!
Oh, I might just have to make this this summer - a lot!!! :) Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Those really sound good. I am going to try those this weekend. Thanks!
Thanks for posting another healthy recipe. I make the granola recipe every week, sometimes twice a week because I got rid of all breakfast cereal in our house. We now eat eggs or your granola or peanut butter toast.
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