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Homemade granola bars and are a great grab and go breakfast or snack
I’m not a huge fan of breakfast during the work week. I don’t particularly think of eggs or toast at 5:45 in the morning. My first thought is, “really? It’s time to get up for work again?” and the second thought is, “so, where’s my cup of coffee?” It’s just really hard for me to imagine eating anything that early in the morning. It’s like my brain hasn’t fully woken up to function the whole chewing and swallowing part of eating.
What I am a fan of? Grab and go breakfasts or snacks. That’s what I usually end up doing during work weeks. I grab a cereal bar and eat it at the office with a cup of coffee. It’s much easier and by the time I get to work, I’ve had 30 minutes to let the coffee get to work.
Not all breakfast bars are healthy though and I know those Quaker Chewy bars aren’t the greatest for you, especially for breakfast, so when I saw these homemade granola bars popping up amongst us food bloggers, I knew I had to give this a try.
They’re so addicting! I could’ve eaten the entire pan and probably wouldn’t have felt bad at all ;) I had some extra walnuts sitting around from a past baking project so I threw walnuts in here, but you certainly don’t have to because of nut allergies. You can even jazz it up with peanut butter chips and chocolate drizzle or with another nut or dried fruit. This, again, is another very versatile snack that you can easily manipulate to cater to what you want. Did I mention they were healthy? Well, probably not too healthy if you load up the sweets but I still say it’s better than store-bought!
Homemade Granola Bars: Chocolate Chips & Walnuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- ⅓ cup (73 g) packed dark brown sugar
- 2 cups (160 g) quick cooking oats, not rolled oats
- 1 cup (19 g) crispy rice cereal
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup (117 g) walnuts, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Lightly grease a baking sheet, set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir oats, rice cereal, and walnuts together, set aside.
- In a medium saucepot, melt the butter, honey, and brown sugar together until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat then cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add vanilla to the saucepot and stir.
- Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and mix together until just moistened.
- Pour onto prepared baking sheet and press out to about 3/4 inch thick – if your sheet is too big, you can press them all to one half of the baking sheet to make them thicker. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press them down lightly. Let cool on countertop until room temperature or for 2 hours, then cut into bars.
These look store-bought-and I mean that in a very nice way! Perfect!
I love brunch and hate breakfast in the wee hours!! Need to try this delicious granola bar recipe soon :)
These are soooooo pretty!
What a great recipe. I can’t think about breakfast that early either and this is a great grab and go option, plus I know what is in these granola bars.
I’ve been wanting to make my own granola bars, but never really tried it before. This recipe looks great! Fun summer snack for my kids. Pinning it now…!
This has been on my “make” list for a few months now. I am just like you and can’t fathom breakfast in the wee early hours of the morning. I eat a cup of yogurt & granola around 9am once in the office & brain fully functioning! Must give these a try asap!
These are beautiful!
Love the pictures here, especially that top one! I’m so with you when it comes to breakfast (plus I need dose of chocolate to get me going) so these look absolutely perfect for me.
Love this- need to make them!
I love granola bars and healthy snacks like that for breakfast. I am not a huge breakfast fan, so these are perfect!