Homemade granola bars

April 13, 2015 2:53 PM

I'm hooked on these really dense, chewy granola bars from a bakery in Columbus, Ohio, but I live in North Carolina and it's not reasonable to make them mail me granola bars all the time. I would like to try making them myself at home instead.

Do you have a tried and true granola bar recipe that is dense and chewy and delicious? I have no food restrictions. Nutrient-dense is good.

Thank you!

posted by something something to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Though the ingredients are a bit of an investment and can be hard to find, I make these granola bars all the time. They are delicious and super filling.
posted by toby_ann at 2:57 PM on April 13, 2015

I highly recommend Trader Joe's as a dried fruit source. (In particular, their blenheim apricots have a sour kick to them that makes a huge difference in this sort of thing).
posted by maryr at 3:00 PM on April 13, 2015

I make these regularly. They're ridiculously easy, and yummy too. I mix up the 5 cups for variety (and to use up small amounts of leftovers in my pantry)... sometimes it's 3 cups of toasted muesli plus 2 cups of nuts, or 2 of muesli, 1 of nuts, 1 of coconut, 1 of fruit, etc.

5 cups cereal/oats/nuts/dried fruit/seeds/coconut/etc
125 gm butter
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
Melted chocolate


Grease and line a 16cm x 28cm baking tin with baking paper.

Toast cereal/oats/etc 5 to 10 mins over medium heat in a frypan, stirring frequently.

Melt butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until sugar dissolves and butter is melted. Bring to the boil, reduce to low heat, simmer without stirring for 7 minutes, or until a drop in cold water forms a ball.

Add to dry ingredients, mix until combined. Press firmly into tin. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Leave to set. Cut into squares.

Store in a foil-lined container for up to 7 days.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 3:51 PM on April 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

We do a variation of these from Smitten Kitchen with chocolate chip, coconut, almond and pecan in them. Oh and blueberry craisins, too.
posted by coevals at 4:49 PM on April 13, 2015 [4 favorites]

These from the Minimalist Baker are absolutely fantastic. Crazy levels of dense and chewy and delicious. Bring them on a road trip and you might not stop for meals.

(The recipe presents a choice between peanut butter and almond butter, and also several sweetener options—I've only ever made them with peanut butter and maple syrup, and I have no desire to try any other way.)
posted by randomname25 at 8:19 PM on April 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

I have made these granola bars every week since this issue was delivered to my doorstep.
The one real innovation I have made is foregoing a pan, and using silicone baking molds instead. One recipe makes 12 bars, which last about a week in this house. I can whip up a batch in less than a half hour, the ingredients are easy to source (I too live in NC), good for you, and they are cheap cheap cheap.

(I am going to try toby_ann's recipe, that looks really good, too!)
posted by msali at 8:54 PM on April 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

These turned out very good too:

http://www.oneingredientchef.com/quinoa-chia-granola-bars/
posted by hz37 at 12:10 AM on April 14, 2015