No-Bake Granola Bars

My friend Briony has gotten me hooked on eating granola bars as snacks and even for my lunch last year.  She makes her own from scratch.  That is something I never thought to do until I met her.  They really are very easy to make and less expensive if you can put them together yourself.  She has a great recipe but she's saving it for her own personal cookbook.  Her granola bars have a lot of peanuts and peanut-flavor in them. 


I decided to change up her recipe skipping the peanuts and therefore cutting back on the fat.  I was really pleased with how these turned out.  I will try mixing it up again in the future to see what else I can come up with as well.





No-Bake Granola Bars
(Makes 12 to 18 bars, depending on how you cut them)

Adapted from Southern Living
2 and 1/2 cups of rice or puff cereal (I used Kashi)
2 cups of old fashioned oats
1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of peanut butter, creamy style
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract


*Note: You could add 1/2 cup of peanuts or sunflower seeds if you like.  I chose not to so I could keep the fat content and the nutty flavor down to a minimum. 


Generously grease a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the rice cereal, oats and raisins.  In a medium size sauce pan, place the honey and brown sugar.  Sautee on medium heat until dissolved and smooth, stirring for about five minutes.  Wait until the liquid just begins to bubble then remove pan from heat. Add in the peanut butter and vanilla extract.  Stir until smooth, like this: 






Pour the peanut butter liquid over the rice cereal and oats mixture.  I like to mix it all together using my hands that have been coated with cooking spray.  I find that my hands work better than just a spoon for stirring. 






Let the granola sit for about ten minutes and harden before adding the chocolate chips.  If you add the chips too soon, they will melt.


After mix has cooled and you've added the chips, press the granola into the greased 13x9 inch pan.  Place in the refridgerator for about an hour to harden.  Remove from fridge and cut into squares.  I cut mine into 12 wide bars.  You can make smaller ones if you like. 






I place them in press and seal wrap and then inside freezer-safe plastic bags for strorage purposes.  I keep mine in the fridge or in the freezer until I'm ready to eat them. 





I don't like to keep them out at room temperature because the highs and lows vary so much here in Florida.  So my stash is always in the fridge or freezer.

Enjoy!


There are so many variations of granola bars out there so it's fun to try a new one.  I personally prefer not to have flour or oil in mine.  Do you have a great granola recipe worth sharing?  If so, leave it in the comments section.  What are some of your favorite, healthy and on-the-go snacks?