White Chocolate Cranberry Coconut and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
This is not your average granola bar recipe.
Whether you're a hiker, a taxed teacher, a busy parent, or just one of those on-the-go people, you're going to love these. My friends melted when they took their first bite, and this has been my go-to recipe since then for all of our outdoorsy excursions. Okay, so you might have to ix-nay on the lovely decorative raspberry if you're taking this for the road, but otherwise it's every bit as delicious--and satisfying--as it looks.
Did I mention that it takes about 30 minutes to prepare and bake from start to finish? These granola bars redefine the meaning of the phrase "on the go"--it's not just your food now, it's the prep, too! And with my busy lifestyle, it's always a relief to know I can just pop these in the oven and voila! Snacks for the entire week. Happy friends, too.
Sound too good to be true? Guess again. If you don't believe me, head on over to my blog for a complete recipe with variation ideas, some sassy hiking stories, and lots and lots of pictures (including step-by-step photos). I'd love to hear what all of you think and come up with! And it's always great to see some friendly faces over there.
Happy reading, and happy eatings!
Granola Bars Basic Recipe
Granola Bar: Basic Recipe
Yield: 1 9×13-inch baking pan
Ingredients:
Directions:
Whether you're a hiker, a taxed teacher, a busy parent, or just one of those on-the-go people, you're going to love these. My friends melted when they took their first bite, and this has been my go-to recipe since then for all of our outdoorsy excursions. Okay, so you might have to ix-nay on the lovely decorative raspberry if you're taking this for the road, but otherwise it's every bit as delicious--and satisfying--as it looks.
Did I mention that it takes about 30 minutes to prepare and bake from start to finish? These granola bars redefine the meaning of the phrase "on the go"--it's not just your food now, it's the prep, too! And with my busy lifestyle, it's always a relief to know I can just pop these in the oven and voila! Snacks for the entire week. Happy friends, too.
Sound too good to be true? Guess again. If you don't believe me, head on over to my blog for a complete recipe with variation ideas, some sassy hiking stories, and lots and lots of pictures (including step-by-step photos). I'd love to hear what all of you think and come up with! And it's always great to see some friendly faces over there.
Happy reading, and happy eatings!
Granola Bars Basic Recipe
Granola Bar: Basic Recipe
Yield: 1 9×13-inch baking pan
Ingredients:
- 3 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 (14 oz.) container sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups chopped almonds or other assorted nuts
- 2 to 2.5 cups “other ingredients” (see below for recipe ideas)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, condensed milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Add in chopped nuts. (At this point, if you want to make different flavors of granola bars, separate the mixture into different bowls.) Add other ingredients as desired; stir until mixture is completely coated.
- Press mixture lightly into bottom of greased pan. Leave 1 inch on the sides between the granola and the pan if you like chewier granola bars; this will prevent them from getting too crispy.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 17 - 25 minutes, depending on your crispy scale preference. Once the edges start turning golden brown, remove bars from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Quickly turn granola onto a cutting board and cut into bars.