Homemade Granola Bars
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 Tbsp. honey or corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)
1 1/4 cups crispy rice cereal, or crushed corn flakes or any "grain" type cereal or crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips*
In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter until fluffy. Add honey, vanilla and egg. Mix well. Blend in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press firmly into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. To microwave: Press ingredients into a microwave safe dish. Microwave on medium power for 7-9 minutes. Rotate dish every three minutes. Bars will firm as they stand. Cool and cut into bars. Save the crumbs for yogurt or ice cream topping. Makes 24 bars.
*The following may be used in addition to or to replace chocolate chips 1 cup coconut 1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter 1/2 cup nuts 1/2-1 cup raisins, dried apples, apricots 1/2 cup fruit preserves
From Dining on a Dime
photo by: veganfeast
Homemade Granola Bars
We made these today with white chocolate chips and locally grown honey, WOW! They are very filling and the kids love them! So much healthier and cheaper than store bought. Thanks for posting the recipe…. Yummy! I love your newsletter and website.
Melinda,, mother of three!
It is very hard to find a granola bar recipe – and I have a child who’s allergic to peanuts, so she can’t eat any commercially made granola bars. Thanks for the recipe, as well as the whole website!!
I have a son who is allergic to cinnamon, nuts, and eggs… got any ideas for breakfast bars?
These granola bars look delicious but they seem to be more of a cookie than a health bar with all of the sugar in it. Have you tried it with less sugar? Thanks.
Yes, granola bars have never been healthy. If you look at the packaged ones in the stores they have just as many calories and sugar, if not more, than cookies.
I have used some less sugar myself. You could probably leave out up to half and have it still taste somewhat decent although I haven’t tried it with that much left out.
For Jenny, and anyone that wants less sugar:
GRANOLA BARS
* 4 cups oatmeal
* 2 cups flour
* 1 cup coconut (omit if allergic to tree nuts, can add more oatmeal)
* 1/4 c. sugar
* 2 tsp. baking soda
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 3/4 c. vegetable oil
* 3/4 c. honey (OR 1/2 c. honey & 1/4 c. light corn syrup)
* raisins, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, dried fruits, nuts….whatever you’d like to add
Mix dry ingredients well. Add oil and honey. Mix well. Get your fingers in there and mix it until all is blended and slightly sticky. Add raisins or whatever you like. Press firmly into greased jelly roll pan (12 x 15 or close to that). Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350°. They will look puffy and soft when you take them out. Do not let them turn brown or they will be very hard. Cut into squares/rectangles while still warm.
These are not overly sweet.
One thing to be aware of and that is honey and sugar both have calories. Often people forget this thinking they are getting something with less calories. This is why so many people who are trying to get healthy by losing weight are having problems and getting frustrated. They don’t know that honey has 64 calories per Tbsp. compared to sugar which has only 45 calories per Tbsp. and honey is 1320 per cup compared to sugar which has 774 per cup.
This is one reason why so many children are becoming obese. Their parents are pouring the honey down them thinking they are giving them something healthy when the reality is they are giving them almost double the calories. Honey is fine just be aware of how many calories you are getting.
Recently I saw a thing which said 75% or more of people who are eating healthy and organic think that organic foods have fewer or no calories. A banana has as many calories whether it is organic or not and if you say but I am losing weight it probably is only because you are controlling the amount you are eating more then anything.
Hello To All Busy Homemakers,
I enjoy trying your yummy recipes for a change, if not too sweet. But one, I thought, had too many sweet ingredients, like one of the granola recipes. I am hypoglycemic, and as much I love sweets, I have to limit them most times for my health. I eat more fresh foods, few boxed or canned foods, but still love sweets. We know too much sugar in our system causes health problems. We want to have healthy families; please be more aware of what you feed your families. Love your families more and enjoy your sweets in moderation.
Please know, it was not my intention to offend anyone.
You are all great Moms!!
We all can help each other by sharing our concerns for better health for us and our loved ones. Happy Cooking and Baking to all.
I have learned so much from reading from Living O. A. Dime; keep sending those great homemaking tips; THANKS to all your readers.
Bless You All with Good Health!
For those looking to cut out the sugar, I used granulated Splenda and the Splenda brown sugar blend in place of both sugars and it came out just fine. Measure out the granulated Splenda the same as white sugar and you halve the brown sugar blend. So in this recipe it’s 1/2 c granulated Splenda and 1/4 c + 2 tbsp brown sugar blend.
Splenda and all its variants are a bit pricey, but for the sugar conscious it’s worth the price. As I’ve gotten older I’ve found that eating a lot of refined sugar gives me a massive headache and turns my stomach, so I splurge on the sugar substitutes whenever I can.
Thank you Mandy. I was going to ask if anyone had used Splenda in granola bars. Have to watch the blood sugar levels around here. =)
Forgot to ask: do these turn out chewy or crunchy? We like a chewy or slightly crisp bar, not to crunchy.
Thanks
You can just undercook them and they are chewy or over cook them and they are crunchy.
[...] had to be a decent “candy bar” type recipe out there to use them up. Thankfully I saw this recipe for homemade granola bars come across my Facebook news feed the other day. I don’t normally plan or share anything [...]
I tried these and they were really good, this kids liked them better than regular granola bars! They taste almost like cookie bars, except not as overly sweet and they don’t fall apart as easily! Thanks for the recipe!