Chewy Granola Bars

When I don't have time for a meal, one of my favorite go-to quick snacks is an oatmeal snack bar with mini chocolate chips. They're great for a mid-morning break with coffee or whenever my stomach starts grumbling (which it does around 10:30 a.m. every morning).

My store-bought bars are really good.  I wanted to make some that are comparable, but know exactly what ingredients are in them.

These Chewy Granola Bars from Virginia Krites in the Taste of Home Baking Cookbook have some great ingredients - including honey, cinnamon, oats and crisp rice cereal (aka. Rice Krispies).

You can change the ingredients around by putting in what you have handy. I put chocolate chips, currants (leftover from an Irish Soda Bread recipe) and some homegrown front yard pecans.

I loved the crunch of the krispies along with the the chewy texture of the oatmeal. The honey and touch of cinnamon gave them such a different, deep, delicious flavor.

I'll definitely be making these homemade Chewy Granola Bars again. They were fairly easy to make (grease that pan well, by the way) and they freeze well. The flavors, textures, and bits of chocolate make them perfect for a quick, delicious snack break.

And, most importantly, I know what's in them!

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Chewy Granola Bars

Yield: 24 bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Chocolate chips, crispy cereal along with chewy oatmeal and cinnamon.

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Ingredients

• ½ C butter, softened
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• ¼ C granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ C quick-cooking oats
• 1 ¼ C crisp rice cereal
• ¾ C chopped nuts
• 1 C currants or raisins
• ½ C semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (scrape down sides of bowl several times).  Add the honey, vanilla and egg; mix well.  
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture about ¼ cup at a time.  Stir in the oats, cereal, nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips (if using).
4. Spray or grease a 13x9x2" baking pan.  Pour the dough into the pan, patting down lightly to make sure it's of even thickness.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then cut into bars.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

While your butter and sugars are getting fluffy in the mixer, stir the flour mixture together - it saves a little time.

These would be good with dried cranberries for the holidays.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 bar
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 202Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 2gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g

Nutrition Values are Approximate