No-Bake Granola Bars

Spring Break and being sick for so long has completely gotten me out of the daily picture habit! In an effort to kick myself back into gear, I thought I would snap some pictures of one of my favorite recipes.

Our whole family loves to grab a granola bar as an at home snack or on the go treat. With the growing price and shrinking size of the store bought ones, I try to keep homemade ones on hand. (Plus, I like all the extra 'good for you' stuff that I can put in them that you won't find in most store varieties.)

For this recipe, I use a large tray with sides (or jelly roll pan) and line it with foil for easy removal later.

I typically spread about 1 cup of m&ms, chocolate chips or sometimes cinnamon chips on the tray before I start the granola bars. (Mixing these things in just makes them melt.)

Christy's No Bake Granola Bars

Dry Mix:

Option 1 - large batch/large container - makes 4 batches

• 14 cups old fashions oats 
• 4 cups chopped nuts 
• 3 cups unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups sunflower seeds
• 10 cups rice crispies(or I prefer 'Uncle Sam's flakes for some added nutrition with the same type of crunch)
• 1 1/3 cups ground flax seed or wheat germ
• 4 cups dried fruit

Option 2 - single batch (Note: to save time on future batches, I premix single batches in multiple 9 cup 'disposable' Ziploc containers while I have all the ingredients out)

• 3 1/2 cups Oats
• 2 1/2 cups Cereal (Uncle Sam's or rice krispies)
• 3/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut
• 1/3 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup Nuts
• 1/2 cup seeds
• 1 cup dried fruit
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

additional mixins: add cinnamon (2 tsp?) or cocoa (1/3 cup) to any single batch

To make bars:

• Place 9 cups dry mix in large bowl.
• Combine 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup honey (340 g) in sauce pan - boil 1 minute
• Remove from heat and add 1 cup natural peanut butter (256 g) . Stir until melted.
• Add 'sauce' to dry mix and stir until combined and dry ingredients are coated - (this usually takes longer than most people think, but keep stirring - it will cover everything!).
• Firmly press mixture into foil lined (or silpat lined) 12½ x 17½ jelly roll pan (or two 9x13 pans). 
• Let cool before cutting.
• Use foil/silpat to lift out of pan for easier cutting. Press/squeeze in any edges that seem 'loose' before cutting. 

•  Optional - Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips onto lined pan(s) before dropping scoops of granola onto pan and pressing. 

~ 15 minutes to assemble four batches, get out and put away ingredients

~ 25 to cook, assemble, clean up

One thing I love about this recipe is it's versatility. If you don't like something, or don't have a certain ingredient on hand, just omit it. It's basically just 9 cups of 'something' added to the sauce. (This is the same sauce that I use for the Cheerio Bars in one of my previous posts.)

Store cooled bars in an airtight container - if they aren't consumed before you can get them there! :)

Have a JOYful day!