Homemade granola bars

Homemade Granola Bars Ingredients:

To make these healthy granola bar recipe, you will need:

• Natural peanut butter: Or natural almond butter, you choose!
• Honey: To sweeten the bars and help them hold together.
• Coconut oil: Also to help the bars hold together.
• Oats: I used old-fashioned oats for this recipe to make the bars nice and chewy.
• Almonds: I used slivered almonds, which give these bars delicious flavor and crunch. But feel free to sub in any other chopped nuts that you might prefer.
• Vanilla extract: For flavor!
• Sea salt: To bring out all the flavors!
• Mini semisweet chocolate chips: Or chopped up chocolate bars. Or, if you’re looking to make these granola bars dairy-free, these chocolate chips!

How To Make Granola Bars:

Alright, let’s do this! To make these homemade granola bars, simply:

1. Simmer the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil. Yep, we’re going to heat these three ingredients first, which I’ve found is a key step in helping these bars stick together. Combine the PB, honey and coconut oil in a saucepan and heat over medium until it comes to a simmer (low bubble), stirring occasionally. Continue simmering for 1 minute, stirring often so that the bottom of the peanut butter does not burn. (If you start to see little brown bits on the bottom, turn the heat down.) Remove then pan from the heat and…
2. Add in the vanilla and salt. Stir until combined.
3. Add in everything else. Well, if you would like the chocolate chips to hold their shape, I recommend stirring in everything but the chocolate chips. Then once the granola is combined, pop it in the fridge to cool off for 15 minutes, and then stir in the chocolate chips. (They will still be just as delicious if they melt a bit.) ;)
4. Press the granola into a square baking pan. Line an 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. And then press the granola firmly and evenly into the pan. I use the bottom of a measuring cup to help press it down so that it’s nice and flat. (You want it firmly packed so that the bars will hold their shape well.)
5. Refrigerate until chilled. Then cover the baking pan and pop it in the fridge for an hour or so, until the bars are chilled.
6. Cut the bars. Lift up on the parchment paper to transfer the big slab of granola to a cutting board. Then cut the bars into your desired shape and size.
7. Serve and enjoy! The bars will definitely hold their shape better when they are chilled. But no worries, if you leave them out at room temperature for awhile, they will just be a bit softer.