Peanut Butter Granola Bars
March 15, 2010 in bars
About a week ago I read a blog post about high-fructose corn syrup. It wasn’t anything scientific, it was just the blogger saying that once she has something with high-fructose corn syrup, she wants more and more. I’ve never really bought into the whole HFCS debate but this made sense to me. I cannot be trusted around granola bars which is one of the only things I buy for myself that contains HFCS.
Enter these bars. Oh my gosh, they were so good. Chewy but a little crisp around the edges. Lots of chocolate chips, coconut, and a tiny hint of banana. Mmm! So much better than the packaged stuff and none of the HFCS for me to stress over (or convince myself that HFCS is the reason I could eat boxes of granola bars at once ;))
These are also easy to customize. Dried fruit, chopped nuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds – they would all be delicious. Don’t like honey? Try brown rice syrup, it would be perfect in these!
- ½ cup peanut butter (natural or regular)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 small banana, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¾ cup old fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup coconut
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Heat peanut butter in microwave just until it’s easy to stir. Combine it with brown sugar, honey, banana, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Add in oats, coconut, and semisweet chocolate chips.
- Press mixture into a prepared 8 x 8 baking pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting.
One year ago: Whole Wheat Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
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I love this recipe. I like to make my own bars so that I can regulate what goes into them. I can’t wait to make them. Does this count as baking? LOL!
These look so yummy! I tried making my own granola bars once, but they didn’t stick together very good. These look more cohesive.
.-= Julie´s last blog ..Frozen Hot Chocolate ala Hungry Girl =-.
I love granola and nuts. I keep saying I’m going to try making my own bars. Thanks for the nudge. Your bars look great and like the idea I can make these filled with what I like, which would NOT include raisins! LOL
Btw, thanks for visiting my blog and commenting the other day! :)
~ingrid
Not sure if my comment went through. :(
~ingrid
These granola bars sound (and look!) fantastic. I love the whole, unprocessed ingredients that you included.
These look heavenly Amanda. It’d be hard for me to eat just one piece.
I’ll be giving these a try sometime. :)
Great snack for anytime of the day!
OMG those look incredible. I’ve got to try that recipe. I’m assuming they set up nicely? Whenever I make granola bars they are always so sticky :(
The almond butter in that picture is Trader Joes. However, it tastes exactly the same as Maranatha! :)
.-= Kristen @ Change of Pace´s last blog ..Disappointments =-.
looks great! i’ll be trying these this weekend. the last batch will be done from another recipe and i’ll have to make more. i like what is in them, your recipe. what roll does the banana play, binder? thanks :)
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..Homemade Lifestyle =-.
Yes, I threw in the banana a substitute for binder and fat. It seems like all the recipes I looked at called for oil and I wanted to eliminate that. Worked pretty well! :)
Thanks for commenting!
I got the link to your website by a friend and tried this recipe at once. It is VERY yummy… my problem is just that I can not get it out of the pan…. :-( allthough I buttered it before….
But I will try again….
Thanks for sharing!
Greetings from Germany!
I made these and they are really delicious! I took out half the chocolate chips for walnuts ’cause I like nuts in my granola bar, but it made a sad bar with too little chips and too little nuts. THUS, next time, I’m adding the entire amount of chocolate to get that little bit of indulgence ;]
.-= fattydumpling´s last blog ..Vegetarian Meatballs =-.
Hey, I’ve made these bars 3 times! Right now they’re in the oven. :)
I love how I can lick the batter guilt-free because it’s so good for you, plus it has no raw eggs. The batter is almost better than the granola bars, hehe!
Anyone wondering whether they should make these….DO IT. And lick the spoon.