"Clean Out the Pantry" Granola Bars

Last month, I took a stab at making homemade granola bars.  I was amazed at how super easy they were to make and how much Bret loved them!  Since I've been baking up a storm lately, I had a lot of leftover ingredients that I knew would go perfectly in homemade granola bars and sort of made a "clean out the pantry" version.

First, I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, I combined all of my dry ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups of oats
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup golden raisin
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup diced walnuts
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

I then added my wet ingredients.  Since I added a lot more dry ingredients than my first version, I decided to double the amount of wet ingredients and crossed my fingers that the granola would turn out okay!

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup agave nectar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

This granola mixture was definitely more wet than the previous version.  I poured the granola batter into a parchment-lined cake pan and baked the granola bars for about thirty minutes.

When the granola was done baking, I let it cool in the pan for about forty-five minutes before cutting them into squares.

These granola bars were more cake-like and less crumbly than my previous version, which I really enjoyed.  I also liked how they weren't overly sweet, even with the addition of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Do you like granola bars?  Do you make your own?  If you buy them, what is your favorite brand?

Homemade Granola Bars

After baking up some mini chocolate chip cookies for my friend's bachelorette party, I realized that its been a long time since I've baked anything in my kitchen.  After I finally recuperated from the bachelorette party and the Super Bowl this weekend, I decided to get back into the kitchen on Monday night and do some more baking but decided to make something a little healthier.  I've recently seen a variety of different recipes for homemade granola bars and I decided to give it a try myself. 

I finally settled on trying this recipe, which I of course slightly modified to make my own.

First, I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, I combined all of the dry ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• A generous 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 3/4 teaspoons salt

I then added the liquid ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Once all of the dry ingredients were moistened, I spooned the granola mixture into a small brownie pan that was lined with parchment paper.

I baked the granola bars in the oven for twenty minutes.  I took the pan out of the oven when the edges started to brown.  I let the granola cool in the pan for about twenty minutes before cutting it into squares.  The granola seemed a little crumbly so I put it in the fridge to harden and this trick worked perfectly!

I made granola squares instead of granola bars since they were pretty thick.  The homemade granola squares made a perfect bite for breakfast....and for a snack when I was hungry!

Tell me, what have you baked in your kitchen lately?