Chewy Granola Bars
1/2 cup nut butter (almond or peanut) I liked using crunchy peanut butter, and can't wait to experiment making my own nut butter as soon as I get a grinder.
1/2 cup honey or agave syrup (haven't tried it with agave yet, but both are lower on the glycemic index than sugar...more on this later...:)
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1 cup oats (instant, quick, or old fashioned, I also used rolled 6 grain cereal from Kitchen Kneads in Ogden, UT)
1/2 cup chopped unsalted nuts and/or seeds (any combination you like) I've used raw almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds and flax seed
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (any that you like) I've used apricot, craisen, raisen, cherry,
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
- Place nut butter and honey in a small saucepan over low heat just until melted enough to combine thoroughly with a whisk.
- Lightly oil a 9x9 or 8x8 cake pan...( when I double this recipe I use my oven's broiler pan)
- Center a piece of plastic wrap that is about 3 times the size of the pan over the pan and smooth it out to line the pan, allowing the excess plastic to hang over the sides.
- Put the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the combined nut butter and honey. Stir gently until well combined.
- Pour mixture into pan and distribute as evenly as possible with the spoon you used to stir with.
- Now fold the plastic wrap over the mixture and press firmly and evenly into the pan.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour. ( For those kids (and me:) that love a little chocolate I chill for about 20 min. then sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top re-wrap and press the chips into the top of the bars then finish chilling...Just a little heat helps hold the chips in place, but too much heat melts them.)
- Lift the plastic wrap and granola mixture from the pan all at once and place on cutting board and cut into 16 equal pieces.
- At this point I like to wrap each bar in waxed paper and tape closed and put them into the freezer in a ziplock bag. When I'm packing lunches I can just grab one and add it to the lunches. It thaws perfectly for lunch.
- I've also learned it's important to stay within the total measurement for the dried nuts and fruit, if you add too much they crumble easily.
- My friend Dana did her own experimenting and added a scoop of protein powder to the honey/nut mixture which would help balance the snack, I was just eating one with a cheese stick, but can't wait to try that out!
- I would guess this snack is about 200 calories, and because it's high in fat I wouldn't have this very often when trying to lose weight but I think it's a great snack for the kids instead of Chips Ahoy!
