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Homemade Granola Bar Recipe
Healthy, Chewy, Low Fat, Crunchy Granola Bar Recipes
Here is a chocolate homemade granola bar recipe that is easy to make and fun to eat.
Don't miss the other recipes for healthy, low fat, crunchy granola bars, and more at the bottom of this page.
Follow these recipes for granola bars until you get the hang of it.
Then experiment with your own ingredients, using our how to tips, to make homemade granola bars just for you!
Chocolate Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 24)
Time: 35 minutes
1 tablespoon butter, melted (optional)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a small bowl whisk together the melted butter and sweetened condensed milk. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds.
In a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Pour on the heated butter and milk mixture.
Mix until everything is well coated. Using your hands, press the granola flat into the prepared pan. Leave a 1 1/2 inch space at the
end of the pan. Don't worry about it spreading. It will cook exactly as where it sits.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Do not overcook. The granola bars are done when the edges begin to brown (the center may still appear undone). Cool 5 minutes before cutting into bars (a pizza wheel works best for cutting). Cool completely then wrap individually with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
More Granola Bar Recipes
How to Make Granola Bars
These tips and techniques will make you a master granola bar maker in no time:
Granola bars are very adaptable and while not as expensive as store bought they can
be quite expensive depending on your ingredients. So adjust each recipe according to your taste and budget. Common granola bar
recipe ingredients include:
Base - regular rolled oats
Binding Agents - maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, oil (canola, vegetable, or coconut)
Nuts - almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, peanuts
Seeds - sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, ground flax seeds (particularly in healthy granola bar recipes)
Dried Fruit - raisins, cranberries, craisins, apples, bananas, apricots
Other - coconut flakes, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter, cinnamon, all spice
Heat the binding agents in the microwave before adding them to the mixture. This will keep the bars soft and nice in texture.
A pinch of salt is important to balance all the flavors.
To ensure your granola bars will be chewy, use a 9x13 pan but leave a 1 1/2 inch space at the end of the pan. Don't worry about it spreading. It will cook exactly as where it sits.
Do not overcook. Granola bars are done when the edges begin to brown (the center may still appear undone).
How to make granola bars healthy and low fat? Just make these replacements/additions:
Coconut oil for regular oil
Really lower the fat by substituting mashed bananas, applesauce, prunes, or yogurt for the oil (1:1 ratio)
Ground flaxseed, tasteless but full of added health benefits (add after baking because cooking reduces health benefits)
All Bran
Wheat Germ
Choose low fat nuts and seeds like cashews, almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
To keep your granola bars chewy, store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
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