Granola Bars

kzmom's Note:

Since so many elementary schools are nut free zones, I like making these for my kids to take as wholesome snacks since taking a store bought granola bar would be considered unsafe for those around them with nut allergies. We all LOVE this recipe! Enjoy!

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 40 bars

• 4 cups oatmeal
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup coconut
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup honey (OR 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup molasses , OR 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup corn syrup depending on your taste)
• raisins , chocolate chips, Craisins (or whatever you prefer to add)

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients together well.
2. Add oil and honey.
3. Mix well. Get your fingers in there and mix it until all is blended and sticky feeling. If you don't, they will turn out crumbly.
4. Add raisins and whatever else you enjoy.
5. Firmly press into jelly roll pan (12 x 15 inch).
6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375°F They will look puffy and soft when you take them out.
7. Don't wait until they are brown or they will be very hard.
8. Cut into squares while still warm. (I find a pizza cutter works well.).

Reviews

[isabellefunk]

I'm so glad I finaly found this recipe. I have been looking for a great snack bar for my allergic kids to snack on after school. I like mine with brown sugar. For the flour we use a blend of mostly oats and a little bit of quinoa, hemps seeds, salba seeds and sometimes flax seeds or pumpkin seeds that I put in the blender to make two cups of flour. I also will put about 1/2 cup of raisins in the blender to get them in small sticky pieces. I find that when I keep the raisins whole they plump up and my kids find them gewy. When they are shopped up the kids don't notice them. Next time I will try to shop up some dates as well. We do like to add 1/4 cup of mini Enjoy life chocolate chips as well. Sometimes I add the zest of one orange for a change. I LOVE this recipe, thank you!

[prvrbs31gal]

Great granola bars. My previous recipe was "Playgroup" bars on another site, but the texture of these is less cakey and more crunchy without being rock hard. I used agave nectar instead of the honey and coconut oil instead of the veg oil, then added in dried cherries and choc chips. Great flavor, can't wait to play with other mix-in combos.

[Singin Praises]

These were delicious! Okay, here were my changes: I used 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup sunflower seeds instead of the coconut, and brown sugar instead of white. I also only used 1/2 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. I think next time I will cut back the oil even more, as the applesauce worked great. Also added some raisins. Used a 9x13 pan, and cooked at 350 for 15 minutes. They were thick and chewy, and held together great. Perfect!