If healthy eating is at the top of your New Year’s resolutions list, this granola will be the perfect addition to your morning. Making your own granola is a great way to control the amount of sugar and additives in your food.
Adding breakfast to your morning routine helps you stay full and energized all morning long. Eating breakfast kickstarts your metabolism for the day.
This recipe for chewy chocolate chip homemade granola bars comes from This Week For Dinner.
Ingredients
4 cups rolled old-fashioned oats
1 cup brown crisped rice cereal (you can use regular crisped rice; I like brown because it’s a little healthier, I get it at Sprouts and Barbara’s Bakery is my favorite brand)
? cup whole wheat flour
½ cup shredded or flaked unsweetened coconut
Heaping ? cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips (regular or mini)
Generous ½ teaspoon kosher salt
? cup coconut oil (you can also use canola oil as a substitute, but the best texture comes with coconut oil)
? cup honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325º F.
Combine oats, crisped rice, flour, coconut, brown sugar, chocolate chips and salt. Mix well.
Combine oil, honey and vanilla. Whisk well. Add to dry ingredients and mix well (stir a lot...and then stir some more!).
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour granola bar mixture onto the lined cookie sheet. Press mixture out into a large, uniform rectangle, about 9″ x 13″. If your hands are damp when you push the mixture into shape, it won’t stick to your hands as much.
Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and dry to touch (watch out, it’s hot!). (I bake for 14 minutes, then rotate the pan, then bake for 14 minutes more.)
If you use canola oil or your coconut oil was in liquid form, the bars may spread a bit during baking. As soon as you take them out of the oven, use a spatula to push all the edges back in, so you get your original rectangle.
Cool on the baking sheet for 10-20 minutes until completely cooled. Slide granola bar along with parchment paper onto a large cutting board. Cut into bars using a long serrated knife - bars need to be completely cooled before you cut them.
Makes 24 bars (8 rows, 3 columns). Bars will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.
We hope you enjoy this easy and delicious recipe. Thanks for reading Willow Hill blog!