So I can't take credit for this granola bar recipe....I got it from my friend Becky who got it from someone else. I have just tweaked it a little and added reasons for using different ingredients. All I known is these babies are.. (in the words of Rachel Ray) YUM - O! Here it is:
“Whatever Kind You Want Them to Be” Granola Bars
1 cup Brown Sugar (I use 3/4 cup or less)
2/3c Peanut Butter (natural kind - no sugar added - we use chunky
1/2 c Honey (and if it's RAW local honey, even better for you!)
1/2c melted butter
2tsp vanilla
3 cups oats (I use 2 cups organic steal cut and 1 cup organic rolled - I like the texture of the steal cut oats in these bars - plus steal cut oats have more health benefits than rolled oats. I also really think this is key in the texture of the granola bars)
2 tsp seasame seeds (good source of calcium and nice added crunch)
1/3c ground flax seed (I usually just dump this in - I think I add more like 1/2-3/4 cup - I've also used wheat bran when we were out of ground flax - that worked too)
Mix together in the order listed (the melted butter will allow you to mix the pb and honey). Line Jelly Roll pan with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so. I let them to cool, pull them out by using the parchemtn paper and then cut them with a pizza cutter into bars.)
Add Ins: 1 cup mini choc chips
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
really anything you want=)
My favorite add ins: regular and golden raisins (makes them look pretty), sliced raw almonds, and pumpkin seeds. ENJOY!!!
