The best granola bars in the world, it makes a great snack in the afternoon.
I expected these bars to be dry and crunchy and I was going to put them in school lunches. Instead they are gooey and delicious and I know they won't last until tomorrow! They seem more like dessert than a granola bar to me. I'm going to make another batch to freeze since they came together so quickly. I left out the coconut and used honey instead of corn syrup.
Read MoreSorry to say I wasn't as thrilled with these as others seem to have been. I did leave out the coconut and sunflower seeds and substituted Sun Maid Dried Fruit Bits for the raisins. They were easy to make, but I felt they were a little greasy - I don't really think with all the peanut butter and corn syrup there was much reason to grease the pan. Basically, they are ok if you are looking for a snack you can make healthier than cookies, but nothing I would make again. My peanut butter loving husband and oatmeal loving toddler aren't interested, so I've got a lot of bars to eat!
Read More I expected these bars to be dry and crunchy and I was going to put them in school lunches. Instead they are gooey and delicious and I know they won't last until tomorrow! They seem more like dessert than a granola bar to me. I'm going to make another batch to freeze since they came together so quickly. I left out the coconut and used honey instead of corn syrup.
What a great recipe! I put a bunch of almonds and walnuts in my bars for extra protein. These are very versatile bars, you can add just about anything from M & M's to white chocolate chips to dried fruit varieties to candybar pieces. These bars have now replaced my usual morning breakfast protien bar. I use honey in place of the corn syrup, they come out wonderful. For those of you who think this bar is dry, I have found the solution. Use 1/2 cup butter/margarine instead of 1/3 cup and melt it before you add it. And bake the bars for 15 minutes instead of 20. These bars don't have any eggs in them so it's okay to underbake them quite a bit, as they will harden up after a few days of sitting on the counter (if they last that long!) Thanks for the recipe, it's a good one!
This is a great recipe! I used all natural crunchy peanut butter and honey instead of corn syrup... it was perfect. I also skipped the sunflower seeds and used 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. Everyone raved!
ok susbstitutions.... agave nectar instead of brown sugar/corn syrup... it's lower glycemic index (but more expensive) and coconut oil and a bit more nut butter instead of regular butter. Coconut oil burns as energy instead of being stored as fat and can help pull fat from reserves to be used for energy, and i used sunflower butter instead of peanut b/c its much healthier but also more expensive, i also added about a 1/3 c of flax for coagulation (helps stuff stick w/o the butter) and for extra fiber and good fats. used walnuts, sesame seeds, raisins and choc chips as my mix ins....... they are AMAZING. i have been experiementing w/recipes for awhile and this is by far the best. After i put the mix in a pan i spread some more sun butter on top and then sprinkled go lean crunch (or granola) for some crunch, it was a great add on. and, we have been keeping them in the fridge which somehow makes them even better.
Really great. I used corn syrup and honey. Honey alone would work, but I didn't have enough. This is a keeper and NOTHING like a bagged cookie.
These granola bars are very very good, I dropped the cho. chips and added 1/4 cup of flax seeds and 1/4 cup of sesame seeds instead of the chocolate chips to make them more nutritious. My husband and two boys love them and they are a great snack anytime. Thanks
My husband is a coach and I like to send healthy goodies for his athletes to have at their meets. I have made MANY failed attempts (yes, they were healthy, but were no more then dried out logs of nutrition). This recipe is a keeper! To cut back on the fat, I'd omit the coconut (sorry... my fave, too). I used a low-fat margarine, amlonds instead of sunflower seeds, Hershey's cinnamon chips instead of chocolate and used only 1 1/3 C oatmeal with 2C high protein cereal from Trader Joes. These were so yummy (even BEFORE baking!) that his athletes were lucky to get any. Not bad for a quick hunger fix while awaiting an event or for my kids who can be pretty picky! Thanks, Karen. These are a keeper.
I really enjoyed these bars. I used 1/2 cup butter, honey instead of corn syrup, and 4 teaspoons of vanilla. I also added some soy protein powder to the mix. The chocolate chips, coconut, sunflower seeds, and raisins were omitted. I added Craisins to my bars. I baked the bars for 15 minutes and they were crumbly at first but the bars hardened by the next day. I will make these again and I was so surprised how good they came out. The next time I bake these bars I will use 3 cups of rolled oats.
Wonderful recipe. Probably would be good no matter what you did! Due to allergies, and cupboard situation I came up with the following which is Sooo delicious: almost 3/4 c. soy butter for peanut butter, honey for corn syrup, strong brewed coffee for vanila, frosted mini-wheats and multi-grain cheerios (crushed) plus 1c. wheat germ for the rolled oats, no brown sugar, milk-free spreadable margarine for the butter, no raisins, more choc. chips, no sunflower seeds. baked for 15 min. Super way to get rid of 'forgotten' cereal in the cupboard!
Sorry to say I wasn't as thrilled with these as others seem to have been. I did leave out the coconut and sunflower seeds and substituted Sun Maid Dried Fruit Bits for the raisins. They were easy to make, but I felt they were a little greasy - I don't really think with all the peanut butter and corn syrup there was much reason to grease the pan. Basically, they are ok if you are looking for a snack you can make healthier than cookies, but nothing I would make again. My peanut butter loving husband and oatmeal loving toddler aren't interested, so I've got a lot of bars to eat!
Perfect delicious snack treat!! I made the following changes based on nutrition and what I had on hand: (1) 1-1/4 cup ALMOND BUTTER instead of peanut butter; (2) added 1/3 cup GROUND FLAX SEED - holds it all together, adds wonderful flavor, boosts nutrition; (3) 1/2 cup MARGARINE - Earth/Smart Balance brand; (4) HONEY not corn syrup; (5) 3/4 cup chopped, TOASTED ALMONDS not seeds; (6) extra DARK CHOCOLATE chopped from chocolate bars; (7) dried CRANBERRIES, not raisins; (8) pressed into bottom of two 11 in x 15 in cookie pan (1/2 in high sides); baked each for 12-15 mins; cut into squares on pan while warm; let cool on pan 20 mins then stored in freezer --- result was an amazingly delicious, crunchy, sweet, healthy(-ier than cookies), addictive, satisfying treat that EVERYONE loved!
These are great!!! I took the advice of someone and melted the butter...great suggestion. Made it easier to mix. I also used about 1 cup of mini chocolate chips and used 1 cup of dried mixed berries (cranberry, cherries, blueberries). I baked them a little longer, for 30 minutes, so they weren't as soft and were more like a granola bar. FIVE STARS! Love them! I actually made them for my husband who is in the military and wanted something I could send.
I've made these twice this week! They are gooey and delicious, and make a filling snack in between all our afternoon dance/swim/PE classes! I use 1/4 cup honey or agave instead of the corn syrup.
This has a great basis for granola type bars, but has too many "extra" ingredients. I made a batch and felt that it just had too many tastes, but nothing distinctive. Next time I make it I would just use coconut and almonds or chocolate chips and walnuts or rasins and pecans... having too many of these all together was overkill.
I haven't tried them because I don't eat raisins but DH said he was disappointed that it was all oatmeal taste and not peanut butter. It came together fine although I did add the oats 1/2 cup at a time so it would mix easier. I pressed it into the pan by hand. I needed to use up some sunflower seeds and I had all the ingredients so I made these and DH will take them to work tomorrow. I may make them again for the same reason but it isn't likely without some tweaks. ***Update - DH took these to work yesterday and came home with rave reviews from his coworkers and a request for more. I guess it is a matter of personal taste. Maybe the title is not the best since peanut butter doesn't seem to be the predominant taste.
These bars are tender, flavoured well and delightful. I didn't have coconut, so I increased the sunflower seeds. I used mini chocolate chips, and added pecans. The peanut butter is not overwhelming, as I thought it would be. I ran out of light corn syrup, so I substituted some with dark.I know these won't last long around here! Great recipe.
These are the BEST EVER! Throw all other oatmeal bar recipes away! Follow Ali's suggesstions
Great healthy alternative to a chocolate chip cookie. Like other reviewers, I changed the corn syrup to honey and omitted the brown sugar altogether. To lower the fat, I mashed half of a small banana and used it to replace half of the butter. The banana could not even be tasted. (I used 2 tbsp. of butter and the remainder was the banana.) I probably could have used all banana and no butter and it would have been just as good. Add or substract raisins/choc. chips/ coconut, etc. as you prefer. I added flax meal too. Chewy, sweet, oaty dessert.
With a few changes these can be a very healthy breakfast/snack. First of all I used honey instead of corn syrup, after that there is no need to add ANY sugar. I also omitted the raisins (just because I'm not big fan of dried fruits) and the chocolate. The coconut gives an amazing flavor, next time I add even more.
these are delicious COOKIE-BARS. even after adding flax and chopped almonds, i cannot say these resemble granola bars. that said, they were easy to make and i seem to be making quite a dent in the pan... four stars it is!
These were so good! I can't wait to make them for the kids again. Some people are always writing in that they are annoyed when people write their recipe changes in the reviews, but I personally, like it because it gives me ideas of how to make it better for my family. We omitted the raisins, swapped honey for the corn syrup, and added 1/4 cup flaxseeds. Some had said it was too sweet, so I reduced the brown sugar slightly - next time I will try 1/4 cup. Is corn syrup cheaper than honey? For cost savings, maybe I will eventually buy some corn syrup to try.
These were super delicious eventhough I made a few changes. I replaced the corn syrup with honey, didn't use the sesame seeds because I didn't have them and omitted the chocolate chips, but added extra raisins. I cut them into granola bar length, wrapped them individually for an easy on the go breakfast! I will definately make these again! Oh I also crunched up about 1/3 cup of peanuts because my husband loves them. It gave them a crunchier texture!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! These are so yummy. Made as recipe as it said except I had to omit the sunflower seeds and coconut, only because I didn't have any on hand. Can hardly wait to make them again with them. These are fabulously delicious and addicting! Thank you for sharing this recipe, have been looking for a soft granola type bar forever. Take care in your baking time, as always. Mine were done in about 18 minutes
They were really easy to make. I also used honey instead of corn syrup and didn't put sunflower seeds (didn't have on hand). I will say that you really need to let it cool completely or they will crumble. Nice taste and not dry at all.
Very good flavour, so easy and fast to make. I used maple sugar instead of corn syrup and added walnuts and choc.chips. You could add whatever you want to the recipe and it will turn out great. Will make again. Allow to cool completley before eating.
After reading the recipe and all of the reviews I subbed the corn syrup for honey. The taste was good but I wasn't all that keen on the honey aftertaste. I felt it was missing the syrup. I also used a low fat butter substitute which worked well. Don't think you can buy corn syrup in the UK so the equivalent would be golden syrup which would make these bars "flap jacks" rather than granola bars. To be honest - if you are adding raisins and chocolate and lots of sweet extras you could cut out the sugar all together and not miss it.
Really really good! I added chocolate chips too soon, so they melted and made the bars quite dark. However, they still tasted really good! Note to self: add chocolate chips after things have cooled down.
This recipe is great just how it is written. I just left out raisins the first time I made them because I personally don't like them much and I didn't have any. They turned out great!! Since then I have experimented with adding in other ingredients to change up the flavors. So far the favorite in my house is to put walnuts in instead of raisins, and use butterscotch chips instead of chocolate. This is a great base recipe that can be changed to fit everyone's tastes.
It was sooo good. A very very good taste. I took the other reviewers advice and left out the sunflower seeds. I also left out raisins and doubled the chocolate chips. We really enjoy.
These bars are very good. I did use honey instead of corn syrup. I did not add the raisins.
4 1/2 stars...these are really good. Mine were a bit crumbly. I probably should have patted them down. I put them in the freezer & then cut them & that helped. Added some flax seed & applesauce..and a small handful of pecans.
Made it as written, but used honey instead of corn syrup. Next time will try it with crunchy PB, Craisins or dried cherries to offset some of the sweetness and toss in some Chia seeds. Will allow the bars to chill in the fridge to get a firmer consistency.
I have made some oatmeal breakfast cookies very similar to this recipe, but was glad to see that they can also be baked as bars. I wanted something a little more toddler friendly, so I made some substitutions for ingredients that are in my breakfast cookies. I used honey instead of corn syrup and omitted the brown sugar. My cookie recipe uses bananas, but I did not have any to add today. So I used applesauce instead of butter. I also added half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of cinnamon. I left out the coconut and crushed some sliced almonds instead of sunflower seeds. They are not really like granola bars at all, but they were absolutely delicious! I like it better with the applesauce than with the bananas.
These bars were AWESOME! I doubled the recipe, used honey instead of corn syrup, omitted the coconut and raisins. Spread into 12" x 17" pan, baked 25 minutes. Made 27 bars!
Delicious. I left out the sugar the second time I made them and liked em even better. Also used honey instead of corn syrup.
These are great, and I make them often. I live at about 5,000 ft so they were crumbly the first time I made them. I added an egg the next time, and they turned out much better. My kids request them often and I happily oblige.
Tasted like no bake cookies without the chocolate. I'd rather have no bakes.
I made a few changes and my kids LOVE these. I use almond butter instead of peanut butter and replace the corn syrup with agave, and add ground flaxseed. They are perfect for school lunches and I take them to swim meets for my kids. They are soft, chewy, delicious and pretty healthy too.
These were yummy! I was looking for something that had PB and oats since I had lots of both in my pantry and came across this one! I easily had all the ingredients. I don't like nuts or raisins in my baked goods so I eliminated those and cut the recipe in half. Perfect 8 2x3" bars! I also used mini morsels and served warm and with ice cold milk!
My kids and husband liked these. I just thought the peanut butter taste was a little on the rich side and it was a little too sweet for my tastes. The only change I made was replacing the corn syrup with honey...just because I had some honey to use up and had no corn syrup. Don't know if that made a difference.
There are delicious! I used honey instead of corn syrup, almonds instead of sesame seeds, and 1 cup of raisins in place of the chocolate chips. I love these and will never buy granola bars again!
The best thing about this recipe is you can use whatever you have. I wasn't looking for substitutions, but I was also looking to save a trip to the store. Didn't have raisins, but I had dried cranberries. Didn't have sunflower seeds, but I had flax seeds. The base is perfect for any of your favorite snacks. A recipe box must-have!
I made these using honey instead of corn syrup and M&M's in place of chocolate chips. I also added chopped walnuts. This is a wonderful recipe and I will make again and again!
These are excellent. I wanted a different granola bar than my usual one. I came across this one and since I have a ton of PB it was perfect. I did change it up just a little bit. I used 1/2 honey and 1/2 corn syrup, left out sunflower seeds and the raisins, family doesn't like raisins, so I subbed walnuts and banana chips. These were definitely a hit with the family. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a half sheet pan. I'll definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe!
These are excellent! They do make a wonderful afternoon snack, too, and one I consider so much more healthy than packaged foods. I also tried it with 1/4 cup peanut butter flavored chips (and cut back the chocolate chips to 1/4 cup), and they were so good! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Great! Very rich though. I also substituted corn syrup for an agave and honey mixture. I also used 1/2 cup flax, and omitted raisins. Definitely make sure to cool completely before cutting, as they'll just fall apart on you!
These were okay, don't know how often I would make these again. I followed the recipe exactly other than using peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips, and chocolate chips would have been better I'm sure. These were alright, they were fine, just nothing crazy special for me.
These are great! My 3 1/2 year old LOVES peanut butter, so she loved these and she normaly is a very picky eater. My husband loved them, we took these on a family picnic this weekend and everyone loved them! This is a keeper! I can't wait to experiment with this and add different things.
Very good, moist and easy to make. I doubt that I will ever buy store bought granola bars again.
SUPERB! Very moist and yummy! I used natural crunchy peanut butter. Honey instead of corn syrup. 2&1/3c rolled oats and 1c wheat germ instead of 3&1/3c rolled oats. Almonds instead of sunflower seeds. This was a big hit with everyone. Thanks, Hossless
Delicious! I used chopped peanuts instead of sunflower seeds. Very easy to make. Next time I might cut back on the brown sugar and chocolate chips a bit as the bars were a little on the sweet side for me. It should be fun to experiment with different ingredients.
Very good! Everyone at the office loved these. I baked a little longer bc i like CRUNCHY sweets. I think this recipe is pretty much fool proof! Will make again!!!!
My bars fell apart! I pulled them apart, broiled them for 3 minutes and they made outstanding granola though!
Perfect chewy granola bar recipe! They actually hold together unlike other recipes I've tried. I replaced the PB with almond butter due to my 3 yr old son's allergy & dislike to peanuts, and he loves them. Other changes I made with great results:1/2 c sucanat for brown sugar, 1/3 c. agave syrup for corn syrup, 1/4 c. butter + 1/3 c. flax meal for butter, 1/2 c. craisins for raisins, and omitted choc chips. Pressed firmly in a parchment lined 10x14 baking pan and cooked 12-15 mins at 350 F. Very versatile recipe, too.
Yummy! I found this recipe & wanted to try it. My husband couldn't wait for me to make it, so he prepared it himself. He made it exactly as the recipe was written, no variations. They turned out super. The texture was perfect & the flavor...so good. We'll definitly make these again, maybe trying some different add-ins.
Changes: Honey instead of syrup, used pecans, almonds, flax seed, cranberries & any dried fruit.
These are awesome!! I also use flax seeds, seseme seeds, walnuts, raisins, wheatgerm, coconut and whatever I find in my cupboards to equal the two cups as called for which makes them extra healthy for my family. They won't fall apart if you let them set until they are completely cooled, then they slice nicely, they are great!!
These turned out really well! I read what other people said about them falling apart, so I put a little extra peanut butter (about 1/4 cup), a little less oatmeal, and only used chocolate as an extra. (I used 2 big bars of hershey's dark chocolate I cut up into chunks - can't got wrong with giant chunks of chocolate in anything.) I also pressed it down after it cooked to make sure it was nice and compacted before I cut it up so it wouldn't fall apart. I couldn't consider this recipe anywhere near healthy, but it was definitely tasty!
This recipe is a keeper. I added chopped almonds instead of sunflower seeds. I'm looking forward to making it again and trying different combinations.
Didn't have Sunflower seeds, and used old fashioned oats instead. Added almonds and as others stated used honey instead of cario syrup. They are in the oven at this moment. I can't wait to try them. Thanks for the added info everyone.
These reminded me of the no-bake cookies minus the cocoa. If you underbake them slightly they are soft, bake them a little too long and you have granola, either way the taste is very, very good! I only used oats, my younger kids don't care for nuts.
I followed this recipe exactly except I left out the raisins because I didn't have any. They turned out great! Chewy but not mushy. Very tasty! This is also a recipe you could easily change to your individule taste. A keeper for sure!
Turned out great but I added some flax seeds, and sunflower seeds Will definately make again.
This is a versatile recipe. I made the following revisions with excellent results: Substitute corn syrup with ¼ cup honey and four packets of Splenda. I increased butter to ½ cup and used a heaping cup of natural peanut butter. I added ¼ cup bran; ¼ cup almond meal; ½ cup finely chopped prunes; ½ cup peanut butter chips. I omitted the coconut. After I pressed the batter into the pan, I sprinkled a mixture of peanut butter and chocolate chips on top and pressed them into the batter. I also lined my pan with parchment paper for ease of removal after baking… The most important thing for me was to wait until these cooled sufficiently prior to cutting so they don’t crumble. On occasion I’ve loaded these up with chopped nuts as well as nut meal (ground nut meat); freshly ground flaxseeds; and soy protein in an attempt to increase nutritional content. Any and all dried fruit works well in these bars. The addition of chocolate or peanut butter chips makes these much richer and makes them taste as good as any cookie, but it also provides nutrition as well.
Added a ton of dried fruit and chocolate chips.... Eyeballing everything generously
Very yummy!! I used honey like others instead of corn syrup. I left out the sunflower seeds and added a touch more coconut & raisins. I also used crunchy peanut butter. I baked mine for 18 minutes and they are nice and moist. This is my new snack recipe as I seem to always have these ingredients on hand!!
This was a great snack. I omitted the sunflower seeds and I added Peanut butter chips in addition to the choco-chips and used chunky peanut butter. I took other's advice and baked for about 18 minutes, very moist. One thing I would be careful to do next time around is store in airtight container as opposed to covered in foil, it did dry out quickly. Delish snack that even my kids gobbled up :O)
My son does not like nuts of any kind so I substituted butterscotch chips and it was a hit!
These are so great. I omit raisins and sunflower seeds, and add only chocolate chips. Crunchy peanut butter makes them even better - I was low on corn syrup once so I used part honey, and that was fantastic, too. I'm in college, and my roommate and friends always eat these FAST.
My sons LOVE these bars! They are very easy to make. They did tend to be a little dry, so next time I will add either more butter or more peanut butter. Like another review said I also added craisins instead of raisins and almonds instead of sunflower seeds. I also didn't add coconut since my family doesn't like that much. That could possibly be why they tasted a bit dry. These are great! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I was not that impressed. I thought these were way too sweet and mine came out very mushy, not dry at all.
Yumm. This is like a giant cookie. If you are looking for a healthy granola bar, I would suggest using honey instead of corn syrup, but I followed the recipe exactly. The oats, nuts, and raisins do add nutritional value. These bars are soft and delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
This was super easy to make but somehow I screwed up. I must have left it in the oven too long because it was so crumbly that it would fall apart after one bite. I used fresh coconut and it dominated the flavor so much that the peanut butter flavor wasn't evident in the least. I may try this again sans coconut and cook for a shorter time.
Very yummy, although I too substituted honey for corn syrup and skipped the sunflower seeds and coconut in favor of raisins and walnuts so they would give us some energy on our hiking trips. I agree that they are hard to cut so that they don't fall apart. I score them once they've cooled for a little while, but don't try to cut them for at least 5 or 6 hours. I'm sure someone more skilled and patient could get it to work for them though.
I'm on a quest for the perfect granola bars. These aren't bad, but they aren't the ultimate bar. My guests enjoyed them but my family (who has tasted many other homemade granola bars) felt they were too crumbly, the peanut butter was overwhelming (these stick to the roof of your mouth), and they're sickly sweet. If you do make them, cut the sugar, use honey instead of corn syrup, cut back on the peanut butter, and toss in 1/3 c. flax for extra nutrients.
These bars are terrific.... I did not add the coconut or sunflower seeds, because my husband does not like them. Well this is now his Favorite Bar. And I shared them with our Wal-Mart family and they were a Big hit.
This was great. I used coconut oil instead of butter. I didn't have any coconut flakes or chocolate chips, so I used sliced almonds and chopped walnuts instead. Reading about substitutions helps me when I just don't have some of the listed ingredients, and don't want to WASTE money going to the store to buy things when I can just substitute. I am not an expert cook, and depend on recipes and the reviews to help me along in the kitchen. Allrecipes is a community where users help each other.
Great recipe, I added sesame seeds, flaxmeal instead of the sunflower seed and rasins. Great afternoon snack.
I made this exactly as stated in recipe, and was shocked at how mushy they were. After an hour or thereabouts they were still mushy and had a rather difficult time cutting them into smaller pieces. I would have to say that with the amounts of butter plus the peanut butter, the other dry ingredients didn't help to keep these molded together enough. I will have to try this again and experiment with the ingredients
Update!! I need to change my rating to 5 star Because I always seem to come back to this recipe lol these are my go to recipe!No complaints! Very good! not crumbly like some granola bar recipes Iv tried! I always stick them in the freezer after baking for about 30min makes cutting them so much easier.Thanks for Sharing!
These were so delectable that they barely made it into the oven. I did make some changes. I didn't have corn syrup so used honey as suggested by several of the other comments. I eliminated the sunflower seeds and chocolate chips. I added sliced almonds some cinnamon and half a cup of applesauce.
Well I can't lie, I switched it up. I was desperately looking for some sort of treat that didn't have eggs and this is what I found! I used honey instead of corn syrup and didn't add coconut, raisins, or sunflower seeds. Just because I didn't have them! They were still KILLER!
I made these bars and they are great. I followed the recipe except I substituted honey for the corn syrup. Even my son that does not like coconut loves them.
I also used honey instead of corn syrup. They turned out great. Butterscotch chips too. No coconut. I'll try the flax and sesame seeds next time. This is such and easy, quick, somewhat healthy snack!
Not sure what I did wrong, but they did not stay together at all! It was a delicious, but crumbly mess!
I have made this three times already. You can really use any additions that you would like. We even used crushed up peanut butter sandwich cookies once and that was delicious!
