How To: Make Your Own Chewy Granola Bars

I’ve always loved Quaker’s Chewy Granola Bars. I used to eat them as a mid-afternoon snack at work, or as quick bite before a run, and always took them with me on long bike rides to prevent bonking. But won’t I don’t like is the excessive packaging.

Packaged snack foods in general are some of the worst culprits of unnecessary packaging. Between the cardboard box and the plastic they’re individually wrapped in, I have a hard time justifying the purchase of many of the snacks that tease me at the grocery store.

But I’m a major snacker. A bite here. A bite there. I eat all day long.

Leaving for work in the morning, my lunch bag is packed with left over’s from the night before and enough snacks to get me through the day–apple slices, almonds, rice cakes, peanut butter, and squares of dark chocolate.  But I’m getting bored.

My favorite crackers are Wheat Thins. But I never buy them because I can’t get them in bulk.  I love granola bars but never buy those because of the packaging.  Rather than denying myself of foods I love, I concluded that I was just going to make them myself.

Granola bars seemed much easier to make than crackers, and after a quick search on TasteSpotting, found that in fact, they are easy to make.

To start, I wanted to recreate Quaker’s Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. But to put a healthier spin on a childhood favorite, the possibilities are endless….dried cranberries or blueberries, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, carob chips, etc. Just take a trip to your local bulk food store and I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding some fun stuff to throw in.

From start to finish these take less than 20 minutes and while they’re not quite as chewy as the Quaker original, I think that flavor more than makes up for what you might miss in chewiness. Plus, a 5 year old could make these. So I challenge you to try this recipe and decide for yourself if you’ll make the switch from store-bought to homemade. I know I have.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

• 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 c. oats
• 1 c. rice cereal (puffed rice, Rice Krispies, etc)
• 1/4 c. chocolate chip

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the butter, honey, and brown sugar until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
2. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the oats and rice cereal. Stir well to coat.
3. Spread the mixture into an ungreased 9×13 pan and press evenly with a spatula to fill.
4. Sprinkle chocolate chips (and other goodies!) over the top and gently press down.
5. Place in the refrigerator (or cool place) until cool and firm, about 15 minutes.