Homemade Granola Bars

The thought behind handing our kids a granola bars is that it is healthy, right?! Better than a cookie at least?! Unfortunately, the list of ingredients in most pre-packed bars contain more that a few words I cannot pronounce. And possibly worse: many contain high fructose corn syrup.

But my kids love them and they are an easy, portable snack. 

Determined to find a better way to satisfy their hunger and my need to stay out of the kitchen at snack time, I discovered granola bars are quite easy to make at home . . . with ingredients you have on hand . . . and without much fuss.  Yes, it requires baking, but baking one or two batches may satisfy snack cravings for weeks to come! 

This recipe was originally featured on Weelicious {photo credit too}.  I tweaked my version as to allow for the fact that I only had 1/4, not a 1/2 cup, of honey handy, and no unsweetened coconut. Additionally, I'm trying to incorporate healthy oils so I opted for coconut oil opposed to canola oil.

The kids adored my version so much I'm not sure I'll ever try the original.  

  

Homemade Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Ingredients

4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips {can substitute raisins or other dried fruit}
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave nectar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F. 

Combine the first 5 {the dry} ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla extract, honey and agave nectar. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir to combine. 

Place granola mixture on a parchment lined {or spilit pat}baking sheet and shape into a rectangle, about 13 x 9 x 1 inch thick. Bake for 40 minutes.

Allow to cool completely then cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.

Enjoy!

What homemade snacks or easy fixes have you discovered?