This took some serious testing but I’ve finally got a great recipe for perfectly chewy and customizeable granola bars!

Adapted from this recipe that I really wanted to love but they were a little too hard and kind of uncomfortable to eat.

You can absolutely make this your own, feel free to swap out ANY of the nuts/dried fruit/mix ins, or even the nut-butter for something you prefer!

What you need:

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup puffed millet (or any puffed grain)
• 1/2 cup raw untoasted nuts, roughly chopped (I used almonds here)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup dried cranberry
• 1/2 cups total extra mix-ins (I used 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds and 1/4 cup dried, chopped dates)

Preheat oven to 350, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, place oats and raw nuts and toast for about 10 mins. Keep an eye and make sure this doesn’t burn or get too dark brown. If you have already toasted nuts you don’t need to add them to this step.

In a small pan, combine honey, butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Gently heat to melt butters and dissolve brown sugar. Do not let this boil hard or you’ll end up with hard candy and not-so-chewy bars. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine millet, cinnamon, salt, dried fruit and mix-ins and gently toss. Add toasted oats/nuts, and liquid mixture and stir to combine. **IF you are planning to add anything chocolate, wait for the liquid mixture to cool quite a bit before adding. It will most likely melt, though.**

In an 8×8 or 9×9 pan, lined with parchment paper, pour granola bar mixture and press down firmly. If your mixture is too hot, or too sticky to touch place a sheet of parchment paper on top and press down firmly with your hand or something with a sturdy smooth flat bottom. A large measuring cup works wonders here.

 

Let cool completely either at room temperature or in the fridge. Slice into 8 to 16 bars depending on what serving size you want and store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Enjoy!