Last weekend R and I got up really early and went fishing. It was a great day, but one thing was missing – a good, easy, snack. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pretzels, but something was missing…
I had been craving granola bars for a while and wanted to try a homemade granola bars. I just never got around to making them in time for the fishing expedition.
When Monday rolled around I decided that I really would do it, and began looking for easy homemade granola bar recipes. We couldn’t use them on the fishing trip but they would still be great for lunches, right?
So I started perusing one of my favorite recipe-swap sites, Recipezaar, (now food.com) and came across this wonderful recipe. I tweaked it a little to match what I had in the house, and only had to buy two items – craisins and almonds. We normally have almonds in the house, but were out, otherwise the only item on the list would have been the fruit.
Listed below is my version of homemade chewy granola bars – absolutely delicious, great snacks, and much more frugal then the Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats ‘n Honey pre-made version.
Ingredients:
1 cup wheat flour*
1/2 teas. cinnamon
*I changed the starred items from the original recipe which called for: all purpose flour, raisins (almost any dried fruit would work, so I used craisons), walnuts (we like almonds better), vegetable oil (we used canola oil), 1/2 cup honey (I ran out at a 1/4 cup and it was too dry, so I added the next best thing I could find: molasses), and it called for wheat germ which I couldn’t find at the store so I left it out.
First you combine all the dry ingredients, the oats, flour, sugar, fruit, nuts, cinnamon, and salt. Then combine the moist ingredients: egg, honey, and vanilla, in a separate bowl and blend well. Once blended, pour wet into dry and mix until everything is covered. I found mixing by hand was the easiest way. The oats and flour will start to clump together, and each piece will be moist and sticky.
In a large pan (13″x9″ is what I used) lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray, spread the mixture until evenly distributed. Cook 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until browned.
Make sure to let them cool fully in the pan before trying to cut – and have a strong knife ready when you do cut them.
This makes a lot of bars, I got 18 out of the recipe. (there are only 17 in that photo – one broke during cutting and I had to put it out of it’s misery and into my stomach)We have been eating them as snacks and in lunches all week, and it’s been great. They are the perfect snack when you want something to tide you over between meals – crunchy but chewy at the same time, sweet and crispy, in other words: yummy.
What I really like about this recipe for homemade granola bars, is that you could really customize them. Any dried fruit, nuts, sweetener combination you like – as long as the ratio to wet and dry stays the same.
And the best part? Total cost beyond basic household ingredients was $1.43 for craisins and $1.26 for almonds. Totaled to $2.69 for 18 bars. This comes to about $0.15 per bar – you won’t be able to beat that price anywhere.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the recipe! I’ll try it out.
They sounds delicious! My husband has been making his own flapjacks as they are so much cheaper than buying them, plus he cuts them smaller so saves some calories too.
Frugal Zeitgeist:
let me know how they come out.
Rachel: I feel stupid but….what are flapjacks? I thought they were pancakes but then they wouldn’t need cutting? ::confused::
What a great idea! They look so yummy, but sadly, I’m allergic to honey. Maybe I can find a honey-free recipe or just substitute something for the honey.
Sarah: I bet you could just use all molasses and reduce the brown sugar.
I also found this website when googling “Honey substitute”:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/features/tip/233/Honey-Substitute
We just finished off the last of the bars, they were great even after a week.
Thanks for looking that up, L. I’ll have to keep those in mind the next time I come across a recipe that calls for honey.
Sarah. You can also use Agave nectar in replace of the honey.
I'm gonna try this recipe but I thought I'd mention that making your own also eliminates waste. If you have prepackaged ones often they are too big for small kids….this home made version can be made smaller for more bars per pan……and to make a smaller serving size (lower calories!)