I was gearing up to make chocolate chip cookies when it dawned on me that I could make granola bars instead. My friend always makes them and she sent me this base recipe from All Recipes. So instead of chocolate chip cookies, I made chocolate chip granola bars.
The nice thing about this recipe is you can try different variations. Instead of chocolate chips, you can add dried fruit or nuts. You can throw in pumpkin or butternut squash. I used less brown sugar than called for (advised from one of the reviewers) and they still came out good. Some people liked to replace the oil with applesauce — I might do half and half next time. The wheat germs adds a nice boost of vitamin E but you could also add some flax for omega-3s.
The possibilities are endless.
Big A liked them okay but Little D couldn’t get enough. I ended up cutting the bigger portions shown the picture to a smaller, kid-friendly size.
Do you make granola bars? And if you do, what is your perfect combination?
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar (recipe calls for up to ¾)
- ½ cup wheat germ
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
- ¾ cup chocolate chips or raisins (optional)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup vegetable oil (can substitute apple sauce)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, chocolate chips and salt. Then pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla and mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars. Make sure you don't let the bars cool completely because they may become too hard to cut.
I have actually made this very recipe. I loved it. My kids liked it the first day, but they wouldn’t eat it after that. I was disappointed. I have not made it since (I prefer loose granola for me than granola bars). I’d like to try making loose granola one of these days.
Hope you are doing well, Maryann!
I use Weekly Bite’s recipe for Tropical Granola Bars but I add dried Papaya and I use mixed nuts with peanuts. My family LOVES these bars and they are a healthy, filling snack.
I love Estela’s recipes…will have to check it out. I still haven’t perfected this for us.
I discovered this recipe a few months ago too and have been making it ever since. We LOVE it! They disappear so quickly. I am glad that my kids like to take them to school for their snack too..healthy and delicious. I also cut back on the sugar in these and no one is the wiser (except me!) BTW, I substitute the wheat germ for ground flax seed b/c I usually have that on hand from Costco and they come out great.
Do you have to put the wheat germ in?
I don’t think so…haven’t tried it without it though