Thursday, January 17, 2013

No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

No bake Granola Bars 1-15-13

No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

One of my boys’ favorite snacks is granola bars.  They only seem to like one brand—Sunbelt.  I often joke that we should own stock in the company because of just how much we alone spend on their granola bars.  I found a recipe for some homemade bars that seemed quite similar to the Sunbelt ones my boys eat daily and wanted to try it out.  I ran in to this recipe at Tracey's Culinary Adventures, but have seen it on other blogs and I’m not sure where it originated.

I loved that it was super simple to make these.  I wasn’t sure what the boys would think.  When they got home from school, but they actually liked them and before the evening was over, the pan of them was gone!  Taylor had a friend over after school that day.  He ate two.  I think they each ate two.  Kevin came home from work and ate one.  And I tasted a bite of one—and they were actually very good.  I haven’t tasted one of the Sunbelt granola bars for a long time, so I’m not sure how close they are to them, but I’m happy to have found this recipe and will make these more often now than buying the processed-brands granola bars.  These are simply made with ingredients I almost always have one hand.

No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, adapted from all over the internet, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with non-stick foil (or use regular foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray).  Combine the oats and rice cereal in a large bowl.  In a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, honey and butter.  Bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook until the sugar has dissolved, stirring frequently.  Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for one more minute.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the sugar mixture over the oats and cereal and stir to combine until all is moistened.  Transfer the mixture to the pan and spread evenly.  Press down until it is compact.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the bars and press down to make sure they stick to the mixture.  Allow the bars to set until firm, about 2 hours, and/or put them in the refrigerator until firm.  Remove the bars from the pan using the edges of the foil overhang.  Peel the foil off the bars and cut to desired sized pieces.  Store in an airtight container.

No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars 2

I’ll be making these again soon, they are too easy not to and I love homemade anything. ;)

No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars 3

14 comments:

Jennifer said...

Those look really good. Even though my kids are older (teenagers) I think they would really like them.

Anonymous said...

this is great - no bake ! my girls go through masses of granola bars a week - so this is perfect!
mary x

Alicia said...

Any idea what the calorie content would be for these? They look great!

sue @ Cakeballs, cookies and more said...

oh my son used to love granola bars, wonder if we made our own if he would eat them again?

Unknown said...

What's not to love? Simple ingredients, no bake and even good for you. Think I'll have to make these. Thanks Katrina!

Leslie said...

YOu know what I love about theses...there is no peanut butter. I love peanut butter, but I dont like it in my granola bars!

Anonymous said...

I love the idea that these are no bake. They look terrific!

Veronica Miller said...

Bless you, I went through hell trying to make no-bake granola bars with no success. Thank you so much for ending my search! Oh and if hey are anything like Sunbelt, we will love them! Those are our faves too, esp the ones dipped in chocolate. hehe!

Nickki said...

They look so good! Love that they are so quick and easy :-)

Nancy @ gottagetbaked said...

Katrina, I'm super excited because I have all the ingredients to make your beautiful granola bars. Homemade bars are on my culinary bucket list - I can't wait to try this recipe!

megan said...

I am making these right now - they are so similar to the regular ones I make, but I am happy about the no-bake part -especially since my ovens are in self clean mode right now :)

Unknown said...

Made these once before... Eyeballed the ingredients... Batch was super delish and did not last a day in my home... but it did not stick well... Crumbled apart. Just made them again and followed the measurements to a T and am hoping for solid bars! Fingers crossed:) thanks for the recipe!!

Katrina said...

Nicole, thanks for letting me know. I hope they hold together better this time! They were a big hit here when I've made them.

Unknown said...

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator

Enter into there, and it Should be close.