These granola bars are one of our healthy snack recipes.
Some people think of them as breakfast bars, and they do make a good “breakfast on the go”.
But this granola bar recipe is more than simply a breakfast bar.
Filled with peanut butter, coconut, nuts, raisins and cranberries, these oat bars are just a little bit sweet, but still very healthy.
They do have a bit of sugar. It is a mix of brown sugar and natural honey. If you prefer, you can lower the sugar content a bit until it suits both your taste and your sugar usage preference.
If you absolutely need gluten free please make sure your oats are gluten free. Sometimes they are not.
With the addition of some wheat germ to the oats, the grain content of this snack food is very healthy.
With this recipe, like most, you can adjust things to suit your own taste and preference.
As I said above, feel free to reduce the sugar content if you wish. I wouldn’t reduce the amount of honey though as it is what holds the bars together nicely.
You can also change the nuts to others you prefer, like almonds or walnuts.
Don’t like raisins? Double up on the cranberries or add delicious dried blueberries as well. Any way you do it, everyone is sure to love these healthy snack bars.
Granola Bars with Coconut
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups oats, quick cooking, uncooked
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 1/4 cup wheat germ
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanuts, or pecans, chopped unsalted
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Combine the oats, coconut and wheat germ in a greased 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are toasted. Remove and set aside.
- Combine the butter, sugar and honey in a medium saucepan. Cook them together over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
- Reset the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Remove the butter mixture from the heat and add the peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until the peanut butter melts. You can pour this mixture over the oats and mix them together right on the baking pan, but I would put it all into a separate large bowl to mix. Add the peanuts and raisins and stir well. The mixture will seem dry at first, but continue mixing until it is moist. Press the mixture firmly into the pan with greased fingertips.
- Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. When cooled, Cut into 24 bars.
Nutrition
Tips and Variations:
- Check the oats, coconut and wheat germ frequently while they are toasting, especially near the end of the baking time, to make sure they don’t over brown or burn.
- Change the peanuts or pecans stated in the recipe to 1/2 cup of almonds, walnuts or a mix of your favorite nuts.
- Use the dried fruit of your choice. All raisins, all cranberries are great. Or try dried blueberries or dried apricots. Any of these would make a great granola bar recipe.
- The recipe says you can mix the wet ingredients into the dry right in the baking pan, but I wouldn’t. I think they mix better in a separate bowl.
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