Homemade Granola Bars

My diet today has consisted almost entirely of homemade granola bars. First, a friend showed up with a batch she made for our playdate this morning. Then, after tasting her's I couldn't resist the temptation to make a batch of my own. I've eaten plenty of both :)

This is something I've been wanting to try for a long time, but haven't for fear of them being difficult to put together, requiring unique ingredients, or turning out just plain awful. How wrong I was. I borrowed a great recipe from a friend, added in some of my family's favorite "extras" and was super impressed with how easy these were to put together and get just right. Added bonus: When making your own granola bars you also control the things that go into them. Not to mention that the price per bar is much better when going the homemade route! I don't know about your family, but mine can polish off quite a few granola bars in a given week.

Stop buying boxes of prepackaged granola bars today!! Check these out...

Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients:
2 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. flax seed (or 1/2 c. wheat germ)*
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
"Extras"** (i.e. dried fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
2. Mix oats, brown sugar, flax seed/wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; fill it with the honey, egg, oil, and vanilla.
4. Mix well, pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. (I used a spatula to spread the mixture as it is pretty sticky; you can even grease the spatula, if needed.)
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes.***
6. Cool for 5 min, and then cut into bars while still warm. (If allowed to cool they will be too hard to cut.)


*For more information on wheat germ vs. flax seed, check out this article. Generally, flax seed will give the bars a chewier texture, so a little goes a long way.

**This is the fun part! You get to mix and match "extras" to your liking. For my inaugural batch I went with dried blueberries, almonds, and chocolate chips. Only wishing I had thought to include some almond butter that I had on hand!! (You'll want to add about 1/2c. of each of your "extras".)

***A note on baking times: The recipe calls for 30-35 minutes, but a friend warned me her's only take 27 minutes and mine were right on that mark as well. The first time you make them you want to watch them closely after 25 minutes, pull them out when the edges are just starting to brown, and note the time so you know for the next go 'round.