Here is your pictorial journey thru my granola bar adventure. At the end are two recipes, Peanut Butter Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars and Oatmeal Raisin Peanut Butter Bars.
1. In a small saucepan, combine wet ingredients. You want to cook the peanut butter mixture for 5 minutes over low but it needs to bubble. It's tempting to pull it off once everything is melted but if you don't get it bubbling it doesn't thicken properly and the bars won't hold together.
2. While peanut butter is bubbling, cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil & spray with cooking spray. Many other recipes talk about using a 9*13 pan. In my opinion, it is very difficult to press the bars down evenly in a 9*13 pan and they are hard to get out. Trust me, use a cookie sheet.
3. Put all dry ingredients you are using into a mixing bowl.
4. Pour peanut butter mixture into dry ingredients & mix with a spoon until it looks wet and well distributed.
5. Take the pan the peanut butter was in and rinse it out. Fill it with water & let it sit in the sink. The fact that I am including this as a step should speak to how important it is to do this now! Don't let the pan sit. The peanut butter will crystallize and put up a fight in coming off if you don't soak it right away!
6. Pour the granola mixture into the sprayed cookie sheet & spread around to cover most surfaces. Cover with wax paper (hint: spray the side touching the bars with a little cooking oil to prevent sticking). Use your hands to press the mixture evenly over the surface of the pan. Pay special attention to the edges and make sure they are not too thin or you will have trouble cutting the bars.
7. Put in the fridge for an hour.
8. Take out of fridge & slice into bars. I can usually get 22-24 out of each sheet. The end bars will be a little crumblier than the center ones. I put the tray back in the fridge for another hour after slicing. I find that it improves the firmness of the bars. Use the tinfoil to help lift the bars out so they stay in one piece. You can then pack the bars into tupperware & keep them in the fridge. They keep for up to two weeks- but trust me they won't last that long. They have become a family favorite!
Yum :)
Peanut Butter Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars- Ingredients List
Makes 24
Dry Ingredients-
1 1/2 c rice crispie cereal ( I used generic- 2.99/box, box has 12.5 cups) .72
1 3/4 c quick oats ($3 for 42 oz= 15 cups= .20 cup) .35
1/2 c coconut (14 oz bag 2.69= .19 oz) .30
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips (I used generic- $3.69/24 oz) .90 (Hint: Keep the chocolate chips in the fridge and add them after you have started mixing the hot peanut butter mixture in. It will reduce melting.)
Wet Ingredients-
1/3 c agave nectar (32 TBS per container, $5.79 per container, 5 TBS used @ .18/TBS) .90 (You could also use honey instead.)
1/3 c peanut butter (64 oz is $5.65, .09/oz) .27
1/4 c butter ($3/4 pk=.75/stick, 1/4 c is 1/2 stick) .37
See instructions above for steps to follow.
Total Cost for Batch- $3.84 Total Cost per Bar (24 in batch) 14 cents each
Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars- Ingredient List
Makes 24
Dry Ingredients
2 cups quick oats ($3 for 42 oz= 15 cups= .20 cup) .40
2 cups rice crispies (I used generic - 2.99/box, 12.5 cups/box= .24/cup) .48
1/2 cup raisins (3.99/container, container has 4.25 cups= .94/cup) .47
1/4 cup dark brown sugar ($2.29 for generic 32 oz, .07/oz) .14
Wet Ingredients
1/3 c agave nectar (32 TBS per container, $5.79 per container, 5 TBS used @ .18/TBS) .90
1/3 c peanut butter (64 oz is $5.65, .09/oz) .27
1/4 c butter ($3/4 pk=.75/stick, 1/4 c is 1/2 stick) .37
See instructions above for steps to follow.
Total Cost for Batch- $3.03 Total Cost per Bar (24 in batch) 13 cents each
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