There are some things that just drive up your grocery bill without you even knowing, and granola bars are one of them. I find them to be overpriced, and really not that good unless chocolate chips are involved. Making granola bars is an easy way to save on your grocery budget, are higher quality, and it’s a great way to clean out your pantry.
Do you have a little coconut in the pantry, but no where to use it? Throw it in the granola bar mixture. Have 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips left over? Throw ’em in. Obviously the flavor combinations should be complimentary. This week I made peach and coconut granola bars, with flax seed. This recipe calls for chocolate and dried strawberries, using strawberries I dried myself when I got them for 50 cents a pound at the farmer’s market. Use dried fruit, nuts, butterscotch chips, or anything you want. Make your own designer granola bars without the price.
Preserved Home’s Granola Bars
2 cups rolled (not quick) oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 white flour
1/2 cup dried strawberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup of honey
Heat oven to 350, and oil a 9 x 13 inch casserole. In a big bowl, combine oats through salt. 
Add wet ingredients. Add the oil to the measuring cup first, so the honey will slip right out of the cup. Mix well with clean hands. Put mixture in prepared pan, and pat down till all the ingredients are condensed well. You want the mixture to be tight so the bars don’t fall apart. Bake the granola bars for about 25 minutes, then check to see if they are done. When the top starts to get lightly brown, they should be done. Cool the bars for about 10 or 15 minutes and cut. If you cut too soon, they will fall apart. If you wait too long, they will get too hard to cut without breaking. Leave in pan until completely cool. Enjoy, and feel very smug next time you pass the ones in the store.
I am here to tell you that I have tried these at Laura’s and love, love, love them. I couldn’t get enough. I wasn’t beyond trying to hide some for later either. I am definitely going to make these.