Friday, May 25, 2012

I don't buy..... Granola Bars

I think granola bars are yummy. I used to buy them every so often too because they seemed fairly healthy and were an easy snack and I liked them. Another reason for buying them was because when I would try to make them they would either crumble apart or not taste anything like granola bars. I have now found a couple of recipes however that I really like and I don't need to buy granola bars anymore.

This recipe I have had and enjoyed using for several years now. I have fun making all sorts of variations with it.
Yummy homemade granola bars
  • 4 cups oatmeal
  • 1 cup (or a little less) brown sugar
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 3/4 cup melted butter
  • 3/4 cup orange marmalade or Apple butter (I have also experimented with using some plain apple sauce or cooked squash)
  • 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Mix all the ingredients together well . Press into a 10" x 15" greased pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Cut into pieces and enjoy!


My recent favorite is a no bake granola bar that I found (via pinterest) on Marathon Mom Blog (Follow the link to the recipe). I have taken this granola bar many places and many people have really liked it and wanted the recipe. I do change up this recipe regularly according to what ingredients I have handy- like in the case of the picture above I didn't use any chocolate and I used sesame seeds instead of coconut. Granola bars are fun because you can make them many different ways.

 Do you make your own granola bars?


4 comments:

Lady Violet said...

When you write "brown sugar", do you mean the big brown crystal sugar or the soft brown which is very fine? This recipe looks so delicious and I really fancy having a try. We can buy here all sorts of dried fruit like apricots, apples, plums peaches, etc. We can also add sunflower seeds. I would probably omit the nuts because of my calcium problem.
Have a JOY-ful day.

Alison said...

We love homemade granola bars too. I just made a batch this morning. My kids prefer to have chocolate chips in them, but my husband and I prefer cinnamon with raisins.

Lady Violet...
I have made granola bars with both the soft brown sugar and the "big brown crystal sugar" and have had great results with both.

Becky R said...

I buy bars to keep in trunk, we are always on the go and my kids are always hungry when we are. With their (my kids) food allergies we can't always stop and get something (not that they stuff we could get on the go is healthy anyway.)
Yours look yummy.

Abbi said...

Lady Violet,
I am sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but thanks to Alison for replying!
I honestly was not aware that there were two kinds of brown sugar. I believe I used the soft brown sugar but I think either one would work fine.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin