Sunday, May 6, 2012

No-bake Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars



Last weekend, my family and I fell in love with making our own homemade granola bars. We made Trail Mix Granola Bars and Peanut Butter S'more Granola Bars. They are super simple and taste delicious. They are so easy that my 7 yr old can make them by himself, and he did! Today he wanted to make them to take for the after game snack for his baseball team. We ended up making two versions - a straight S'more version (like the Peanut Butter S'more Granola Bars, but with no peanut butter - there are kids with nut allergies on the team.) The second version was my son's creation - an oatmeal raisin granola bar with cinnamon. He did everything by himself, except the pouring of the hot syrup into the mixing bowl. He was so proud! He told all his team mates that he made the granola bars, and repeatedly asked them how they like the snack. Adorable!
   Needless to say, everyone loved them and everyone was thoroughly impressed.
This is how he made his cinnamon oatmeal raisin bars:

He put 1 3/4 cups of oats, 1 cup of puffed rice cereal and 1/2 cup of raisins in a large mixing bowl. - We are using the same bowl that we just made the S'more version in, so please disregard the chocolate on the bowl. Saving dishes is always a priority. :)

He then put 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 cup honey and 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar in a pot on the stove. Turned the heat to medium and stirred the ingredients together.

When the mixture started to bubble, he watched the clock for 2 minutes and then turned the stove off.

It was at this point (when he was waiting his 2 minutes for the syrup to be done) that he asked if we could add cinnamon sugar to the mixture. I told him that we didn't need any more sugar, because of the honey and brown sugar in the syrup but that cinnamon would be OK. We sprinkled enough to cover the top (probably about 1/4 tsp), and then mixed it all in.

I poured on the hot syrup and he started mixing.

When everything was completely covered in syrup, my boy wanted to add some chocolate chips. (Of course, I mentioned before that chocolate is pretty much a standard in our house.) This is completely optional. We added 1/3 cup.

As soon as the chocolate was mixed in, I dumped it into a 9x9 pan and started to flatten it out. My handsome man did most of this, but I just happened to take the shot with my hand in the picture.

You really want to make sure to press down hard, so that everything gets good and stuck together. Now , our hands are covered in melted chocolate so we washed our hands and put the granola bars in the fridge to cool for at least 30 minutes.

When they were cool, I turned them out onto a cutting board.

I cup them into 7 long strips,

and then cut the strips in half - 14 bars. There are 14 members of his baseball team. Isn't it wonderful when things work out?

From here we just put each granola bar in a zip-top baggie with a S'more granola bar, so that each child word have their pre-portioned snack. Served along side a 100% juice pack and it was an awesome and nutritious snack! (The hubby and I hate it when parents bring junk food for the team snack. -Stepping on my soap box. We should be giving our kids healthy snacks and treats. We want them to be healthy and grow up the best they can. Our kids will only act as good as the food we put in them. Just think about that for a second. Our kids have been given candy and doughnuts for an after game snack on more than one occasion. Really people? Just sayin'. OK stepping down off of my soap box.)

These bars really are delicious! I consumed quite a few myself. (We made a total of 4 batches of granola bars today for the team and our family.)

Here's the recipe:

No-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars

1 3/4 cup oats
1 cup dry puffed rice cereal
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 cup honey

Put honey, butter and brown sugar it a pot on the stove. Bring up to a boil and cook on medium for *1 to 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine oats, cereal, raisins and cinnamon. When hot syrup is done, pour over the oats mixture and stir to combine. When everything is coated add chocolate chips (if using) and stir in quickly. Immediately dump mixture into a 9x9 pan and press down firmly until even and solid. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into bars. (makes 14 bars)

*for a chewy bar, cook for 1 minute. For a crunchier bar, cook for 2.

17 comments:

  1. Do you know how many calories in a serving?

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    1. The calorie count may vary depending on the brand of your ingredients. With what I used, each bar is 142 calories - including the optional chocolate. They are closer to 120 calories each without the chocolate. I hope this helps. :)

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  2. finally i got something to impress my wife and the little one :-) thank you for posting this recipe. just 3 questions though.

    - honey and suger: wont it make the bars too sweet?
    - this might be stupid question but can we add vanilla essence and almonts to it?
    - can we cool at room temperature rather than refrigerator? afraid it might get too hard.

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    1. Good questions! The honey and sugar work well together in this recipe making for a lightly sweet granola bar. The brown sugar is the main sweetener, and the honey helps keep the bars chewy. As for the additions of vanilla and almonds I think those would be wonderful! You can add anything you like to the mixture, but if you add too many ingredients (without increasing the syrup mixture) the bars won't stick together as well. I would suggest just adding a few almonds (1/4 to 1/3 cup), or replacing the chocolate chips with more almonds if you prefer. And yes, you can cool @ room temperature, but it always seems like it takes forever when my kids want them immediately. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen it could take a couple hours to fully set up at room temperature. As long as you didn't over cook the syrup, the bars shouldn't get too hard after only 30 minutes in the refrigerator. I hope this helps! Thanks for the comments!! :)

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  3. I don't have puffed rice cereal. Is there something I can substitute or can I leave it out completely?!

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    1. The "puffed rice" (aka Rice Krispies) is mostly a textural element. If you decide to make the bars without, then you should replace the one cup with something else, or you run this risk of the bars being too gooey (having too much syrup and not enough ingredients). You could substitute it with anything you wish. Some slivered almonds, or another cereal might be nice. Even just more oats would be o.k. but the texture would be a little lacking. Good luck and let me know what you decide, and how it turns out! :)

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  4. I wound up getting some rice krispies this morning when I went to the store--I didn't want to risk it! However, I had no honey so I used syrup, I'll be sure to let you know how they turn out! :)

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    1. Definitely! I hope they turn out well for you! Thank you. :)

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  5. Hi, recipe looks great...about to try it now! How long do they keep for? Have you tried freezing them?

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    1. Thanks for your questions! My family and I usually eat them all within 2 days, so I'm not sure how long they would keep. They should be kept in an air-tight container (we usually just use zip-top bags) to keep from drying out. My guess is that they would keep at least a week. I've never tried freezing them, but if you do then let me know how it turns out! :)

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  6. I have to tell you, I just love this recipe! I've used many times. Super easy to whip up and taste just as good as store bought ones!

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    1. Thank you! These are the granola bars that I make every time I have to bring "snack" to my kids sporting events, and they are always a big hit.(Of course, I change it a bit if needed for kids food allergies.) I'm so glad you enjoy them! :)

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  7. Love the recipe and taste but I've made it 3 times now by tripling the recipe and it turns to gooey. Increased the cooking time by a minute on the last effort but still to no avail. Any suggestions?

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    1. Hi Jeff! Thanks for stopping by and trying the recipe! I'm sorry they didn't set up for you. I've made these multiple times without any problems. I've never doubled or tripled the recipe, though. That might be your problem. Also, are you letting them set up in the fridge? They will still be gooey if they are too hot. Try making just one batch as the recipe states, and see if you still are having trouble. Let me know how it goes! :)

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  8. I love these bars! They are so easy to make and delicious. Just made them for the 3rd time today. Going to have them as my breakfast snack on the way to work. I made them first this past summer and my family is hooked. Thank you!

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    1. Yay! I'm so glad you guys enjoy them! We still make them for all of our after sports snacks. Having them as a quick breakfast is a brilliant idea! Thank you for commenting.

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  9. These are great! Is there any way to make them less sweet?

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