Description
These soft and chewy granola bars are simple to make and only require a handful of ingredients. These granola bars are filled with wholesome ingredients, like whole grain oats, honey, nuts and dried fruit. These granola bars are completely customizable, so feel free to add your favorite fruit, nuts or chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup chopped dried fruit (apple, cranberries, strawberry)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, or a mix)
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies cereal)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, making sure some of the parchment paper hangs over the edge.
2. Add oats to a ¼ sheet rimmed baking pan. Toast oats in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 300F.
4. In a small saucepan, add coconut oil, maple syrup, and honey. Cook over medium heat on the stovetop until the coconut oil is melted and all ingredients are combined. Remove from heat.
5. Add in the oats, cereal, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine. Add in the dried apple (or dried fruit) and nuts.
6. Scoop mixture into prepared 8×8 baking pan. Firmly press the mixture down into the pan.
7. Bake in 300F preheated oven for 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then place in refrigerator to chill for 1 ½ hours.
8. When ready to serve, remove bars from the pan, using the parchment paper handles to lift the bars out. Cut the bars into desired size on cutting board. I cut my bars in half horizontally, then cut into 12 roughly equal size bars.
Notes
- Storage – You can store these bars at room temperature or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They will be a bit softer at room temperature. You can store in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks, or store in the freezer, in a freezer safe container, for up to 3 months.
- Feel free to use all honey or all maple syrup as your sweetener. I enjoy using the mixture of both for added flavor.
- It’s important to use coconut oil in this recipe, as this oil is solid at room temperature, which helps hold the bars together at room temperature. If you prefer, you can use butter in place of the coconut oil, but the bars may be a bit softer and will need to be stored in the refrigerator, as butter is soft at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 22
- Category: Snack
- Method: Stove Top/Oven
- Cuisine: American