Bird Seed Energy Bars
These bars are full of crunchy seeds, wheat germ, and rolled oats for fiber, and protein. Since they keep in the freezer for months, I love to grab them straight from the freezer and pack them for snacks on the ski hill.
These bars are full of crunchy seeds, wheat germ, and rolled oats for fiber, and protein. Since they keep in the freezer for months, I love to grab them straight from the freezer and pack them for snacks on the ski hill.
I made a healthier lower fat version that turned out really great. I used 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup oil, egg beaters instead of eggs and only 1/2 c honey and 1/2 c sugar. I also added some natural peanut butter. They were wonderful, baked them about 30 minutes. Thanks for this great healthy snack.
Read MoreThese came out tasting good, but they crumbled apart and were very dry when I tried to get them out of the pan.
Read MoreI made a healthier lower fat version that turned out really great. I used 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup oil, egg beaters instead of eggs and only 1/2 c honey and 1/2 c sugar. I also added some natural peanut butter. They were wonderful, baked them about 30 minutes. Thanks for this great healthy snack.
I love this recipe! I did as the other reviewer suggested. 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 oil and it turned out great! I didn't have any wheat germ so I used ground flaxseed instead and just eliminated whole flaxseed. These freeze great and can be eaten right from the freeze (they don't get too hard). No more energy bars from the store for us! They also feel you up pretty good. Works great for a quick breakfast if you are in a hurry. I will DEFINITELY make these again!!
Great alternative to preservative filled and/or pricey grocery store granola bars. Perfect on the go breakfast for a busy family. Recipe is great as is, but when you start to get bored of it, try mixing it up a little. Try cocoa powder, apple pie spice, reese peanut butter bits, peanut butter, trail mix, M&M's, or anything else that sounds interesting to mix up the flavours. I've made this a couple dozen times, and always add a couple extra cups of filler (trail mix expecially). A hint for handling the sticky dough; spray your hands lightly with no stick cooking spray when mixing/patting it into the casserole dish, and it'll handle much better. These keep very well--I usually get 10-14 days out of the fridge b4 they mould or go 'off', and around a month in the fridge, and have frozen as long as six months.
These are surprisingly very good! Not 'very good, for health food' good. Just plain good! 4 stars because although I actually followed the recipe and ingredients exactly, my bars are just slightly crumbly unless frozen. The reviewer who said they're a little cake like is correct - these are different than what you get in the box at the store. But they are genuinely filling, and taste great. Sweet but not 'candy bar masquerading as health food' sweet. It will be easy to make different flavors of this for the kidlet, who has happily taken them to school all week. I think the recipe needs modification, but I am a big fan. EDIT: made again using 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce instead of 1 full cup oil, and halved the brown sugar. Found no change in flavor/texture. Still a little crumbly. I also tripled the cinnamon, and it didn't change much at all. We've since added coconut, almonds and almond extract for almond joy bars. We subbed the chocolate for craisins and the vanilla for lemon extract for lemon cranberry bars. I'm using flax meal (ground flax) instead of seeds because the seeds are undigestible, so they're useless in the recipe as-is. UPDATE: replacing all the oil with pureed pumpkin works perfectly too, and an extra egg (or equivalent of egg whites) keeps them from crumbling.
I haven't tried this recipe yet, but judging by other reviews i'm sure it will be a good one. HOWEVER! I would like to make note that if you'er going to use the flax seed, It must be GROUND first to realease it's healthy Omega 3 oils and other minerals. I've read that people can not digest whole seeds. If you don't have a spice or coffee grinder you can buy flax meal or flax flour, but it needs to be kept in the freezer to keep the oils from becomming rancid.
WoW, this is my new goto meal replacement/snack/energy bar. Better than any granola/fiber bars on the market. This has become an essential part of my diet. I have made them with the original recipe and changed some things around. I found if you use three eggs they are not so crumbly and stick to gether much better.
I love finding *healthy* snack choices for my family and although I usually don't try recipes that haven't been reviewed already, I thought I would try my luck... so glad I did! These were great! I did tell my kids they were "CHOCOLATE CHIP bird seed bars" and that did the trick! I did only give it 4 stars because the bars could have used a little more egg or something to stick better... I was nervous that they would taste a little "cardboard" because they only used whole wheat flour but they were fine just as written. I might try using half oil and half applesauce to cut down on the oil - if I do, I'll post an update. As is - they are great though! (they remind me a little of my PLAYGROUP GRANOLA BARS! If you like these you'll like those too.)
These were great. I wrote down all of the suggested "additions" from other reviewers and am eagerly looking forward to trying the different varities. I used 1/2 c. home made sugar free apple sauce I had on hand and 1/2 c. oil like some suggested, to try to cut out some calories. I also added an extra egg. Oh yeah- I cooked this in a jelly-roll pan. It made them plenty thick enough. My hubby wanted something healthy he could grab on his way out the door for the gym in the AM. This is the "ticket"! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I used flaxseed, cranberries, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. I thought about throwing in some almonds, but I thought it would be too dry. I'm currently letting them cool, but I snuck a bite and couldn't wait to give my report. They are fantastic! I might use other people's suggestions and use applesauce instead of all the oil, seeing as the main point of making granola is to stay healthy!!
I tried adding the extra egg, too, and thought they were a little too soft, but still very good. Also couldn't find wheat germ, so used cracked wheat--don't try that--were a little too crunchy! They kept soft nicely and were very good after sitting out for several days in a plastic bag. Very versatile recipe. You can double up or substitute many different things to your liking. I added double sunflower seeds and no sesame seeds, and chocolate chips. The flavors were slightly masked by the crunchiness of the cracked wheat, though. So would definitely try again, but use only the one egg and maybe chopped almonds or walnuts instead of the cracked wheat.
These are great! I am a dump truck driver and these are so easy to take along in my lunchbox! I usually have to get up for work before the chickens and don't have time for breakfast, so they work perfectly in my hurried lifestyle! This recipe is so EASY to tweak to your liking as well! I sometimes throw in dried cranberries or blueberries. I am also a big fan of vanilla, so whenever I make anything I always double the vanilla (real, not immitation)if the recipe calls for it. I tend to stick with all natural and organic ingredients (i.e.-using raw seeds, nothing "dry roasted" because they usually have been salted). These bars are packed with goodness that not only please the tastebuds but are good for you! My kids LOVE them!
I've tried several granola bar recipes from this website and this one seems to be the family favorite. Cookie jar empties fast.
delicious-they were half gone in no time. Sub 1/2 apple sauce for oil, and 1/4c molasses for honey. Very versatile recipe. When they were baked I put 1/4 of recipe into dehydrator b/c DH loves crunchy granola bars. Next time I will cook on a cookie sheet rather than 9x13. Thanks for the recipe.
These are perfectly wonderful! I made sure I had everything needed...no substitution or omissions, and they came out exactly right. I used a pizza cutter and knife to cut them into rectangles, ate only one (extremely hard to resist eating a second!)They're in my freezer now, individually wrapped so that I can grab one when I go for my morning walks. I did spray my hands with non-stick pan spray before mixing, so clean-up was a snap, too. I'll be making these many more times!
Like several others, I used half oil, half applesauce to cut the fat some. I also split the batter in half and added peanut butter and chocolate chips to one half (for the kids), and chopped cranberries without chocolate chips to the other half (for me). They taste great, with a nice chewy/crunchy texture, and make a very healthy and satisfying snack. If you're looking to replace those chemical-preservative filled bars from the supermarket, these are a good alternative.
My family absolutely loves these bars. I substitute craisins for the chocolate chips. For us it's a better fit mainly because unlike chocolate chips, the craisins don't melt in your golf bag when we're out on the course! (Nothing like having gooey chocolate fingers when you're putting for eagle!)
4 stars for the possibilities this recipe has. I had to substitute a couple of things...didn't have sunflower seeds on hand so I used pumpkin instead, and I was out of flax seeds, so I used hemp. I also used 1/2 cup mashed banana in place of half the oil and added a couple tablespoons peanut butter and raisins instead of chocolate chips. But these were far too sweet for me, and I think cutting back to 1 cup total sugar (I use Whey Low) and honey will be plenty for us next time. UPDATE: Second time: subbed 1 cup toasted almond flour for 1 cup ww flour, used 1/2 cup almond butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil for canola oil, 1/2 cup Whey Low brown sugar and 1/2 cup brown rice syrup for sugar and honey and added 1 cup slivered, toasted almonds. I also added dried tart cherries and upped the chocolate chips to 1 cup and omitted the sesame and sunflower seeds, adding 1/2 cup chia seeds and 1 cup dried unsweetened coconut. I also used 1/2 cup ground flax seeds rather than whole seeds, which are indigestible. They turned out great!
My search for the perfect granola bar has officially ended!! Every recipe I tried always got either crunchy or fell apart.....not these. They are perfect!!!! The only things I did different were to add only 1/2 cup brown sugar and only 3/4 cup honey. I also added an extra egg for fear of them falling apart. Oh, I did add about 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 of the oil. I look forward toputting dried cranberries or raisins in or maybe peanuts or pecans. Try them and you will not be able to stop eating them!!!
I have tried these bars with the original recipe, and I thought that they were great. I have also substituted half the oil for almond butter and flax for almonds when I didn't have flax at home. I have also substituted bran for wheat germ. It is quite a bit cheaper. My favorite additions are coconut, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.
Love this recipe. I tried the oil/applesauce split and it made them a little too crumbly for us. I’ve added chocolate chips, small M&M’s, raisins and coconut. We make one batch for my daughter with nut allergies and one batch for the rest of the family. We don’t mix it by hand, way too hard. We use the mixer on a slow speed. It’s a little sticky when pressing it in the pan. When they’re done, we cut them up in bars and put them in sandwich bags for quick energy.
These came out tasting good, but they crumbled apart and were very dry when I tried to get them out of the pan.
They were not as moist or crispy as I expected. Next time, I will use all the oil (instead of any applesauce), lots of add-ins (dried fruit and choc chips), and less flour. If that doesn't work, I may just give up on this recipe and go for true granola bars. We'll see.
This is a great recipe. I added cranberries, peanut butter and pumpkin seeds and an extra egg. I pressed them into a cupcake pan and they came out perfectly. Delicious!! Will definitely use this recipe again and again.
Delicious, and very healthful too! While not quite as yummy as a warm chocolate chip cookie, this is MUCH more nutritious and nearly as good. I followed the recipe exactly (my pet peeve is those who change the recipe and then review it!) and it was great. I did bake it a bit too long (my fault) ... after 35 minutes the edges were a bit dry but still moist in the middle. The bars are a bit crumbly .. wondering if another egg or using applesauce helps with that ... but anyway - glad I tried these. Hubby loves them, which is good because he needs to up his fiber! ADDENDUM: They're MUCH better the next day!
These are ok. They are sweet but lacking in flavor. I would add more cinnamon and vanilla next time. The texture is nice though. It cut beautifully and it's a cake-like bar if that's what anyone is looking for.
These have a great consistency! Many of the recipes I've tried come out crumbly or mushy, but this recipe came out perfect! I plan to add raisins next time.
Great recipe! Would put 5 starts if it didn't have so much sugar and honey in it, so I only used half of that. I made adjustments based on what I had on hand/preference. Subbed agave for honey and organic evaporated cane sugar for brown sugar. Subbed half the oil for applesauce and added a little pumpkin for moisture. I doubled the flaxseeds and added some slivered almonds. I was really happy with how they came out.
These are pretty good! I just made them with 1/2 applesauce and oil. I did not have any of the seeds and substituted pecans and walnuts for them. Will make again! Thanks.
Yummy, versatile recipe! I only changed pecans for sesame seeds, and did the half applesauce, half oil. Def. doesn't taste as healthy as it is, with whole wheat, oats, flax, and wheat germ in them!
This is an excellent recipe! I pulled my second batch out of the oven less than 30 minutes ago and i just couldn't wait to submit my review. The first batch i made according to the recipe, with the exception that i added 1 more egg. Everyone loved the bars the first time. The second batch i changed up quite a bit, to complete success. Added 1 extra egg; 1/2c. cranberries; 1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract; toasted the wheat germ; and finally, added 2 mashed bananas and only 1/2c oil. Fantastic!!!
Very yummy & filling. I think next time will take suggestion & use 1/2 cup oil + 1/2 cup applesauce. I also only had 3/4 cup honey, and was plenty sweet & moist. I modified to my taste with 1/2 cup each - flax seed, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, cranberries & golden raisins. Great base to start & adjust to what you like best in an energy bar!
Fantastic recipe! It is easily altered to suit your taste. I have tried to decrease the ww. flour to 1 cup, omitted the brown sugar entirely and added chopped dates for sweetness. I think I have changed the recipe every time I've made it....and love it each time. I think because I've decreased flour/brown sugar, it is more crumbly but the flavour is still great. I tried it with some walnuts and it was a great addition! Have subbed oat bran for wheat germ too. All in all, a great recipe!
LOVED these bars! Super healthy and delicious! The man at home doesn't care much for "Seeds" and completely stuck his nose up to the ingrdients in this recipe, but he gobbled them up!! Thanks so much for this recipe, will make again and again!
so yummy! you could easily substitute raisins, dried cranberries, etc .. or other kinds of nuts. i'll be making these all the time!
These are very good. We make a tray and freeze individual squares every other month or so. We have made as stated which is excellent and we have also made with modifications which we enjoy. We usually add 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of flaked coconut. Butterscotch chips give a great flavor too. We have also cut the oil and replaced 1/2 with applesauce and there really is no change in the flavor. Very nice recipe. THANKS!
I didn't expect to like these but I do! My only complaint would be that the chocolate chips seemed a little out of place - like they needed to be tripled or taken out.
I used chopped peanuts and reeses pieces instead of the sesame seed nuts and chocoolate chips. It was pretty good but I think it needs more cinnamon.
A good filling snack. I didn't have honey so used corn syrup. I was surprised that they weren't dry and they stayed together fairly well. (ie. they don't crumble to pieces.)
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. I have been making these 1X a month for the past few months to eat on the way to work. They are great with a cup of coffee and give you the energy you need to get through until lunch.
Heavy, dense bricks! I made half the recipe and used a smaller pan (9x11), which I thought was appropriate. Well, with even half the recipe I should have used a cookie sheet because they were much too thick. I cut them into 20 very small bricks instead of 12 because I can't imagine trying to eat a larger piece of something so dense. I wrapped them in plastic and put them in a bag in the freezer. Since they are nutritious, they will get eaten for breakfast or snacks. I will give this one more try and next time I will spread them out paper thin and see if they turn out better.
Pretty tasty! I love chocolate so I added a little extra by melting chocolate chips and drizzling it over the energy bars. Oh yeah, I also pre-proportioned it by baking them in muffin pans.
I'm not sure why this recipe has so many good ratings. I made these bars today completely following the recipe and they were like tasteless, dry, cardboard.
I loved this recipe, so healthy and tasty. I used real maple syrup instead of honey because I don 't like honey. I also reduced the amount of sugar in half and added toasted almonds instead of chocolate chips, just a preference. Thanks for the great recipe!
This is a good tasting alternative to store bought granola bars. I used only 1/2 cup oil and added 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (wish I would have used more). I also used pecans instead of sunflower seeds. Came out yummy!
It uses too much honey, so I found the bars a bit too soft. This can be a healthy recipe if you cut some of the honey and sugar from it.
I loved these bars. (And so did my husband and daughter.) I did make a few changes based on our preferences and what I had available. I used one stick of melted butter and 1/2 cup of applesauce in place of the oil, and I used one cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup to sweeten. I also ground up the flax seeds before adding them to the mix. They seemed to stick together ok, and were delicious out of the refrigerator.
Excellent, but crumbly. I blended up the flax seeds (otherwise they go undigested). Also omitted other seeds and put instead, put in extra oats, extra wheat germ, and 1/2 cup wheat berries. Tried: 4 cups oats, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 cup cracked wheat, 1 t cinn, 1.5 cup wheat flour, 0.5 cup ground flax seed (divided - add 2T worth to 5T water, heat for egg substitute, the rest goes in the dry ingreds), 1 egg, 1 cup honey, 1 cup oil, 2t vanilla, 1 t salt, 0.5 cup choc chips.
Very good! Dense and hearty bar for breakfast, a snack or energy on the go. I took another reviewer suggestion and used 1/2 c. oil and 1/2 c. applesauce. I also added coconut and raisins. Next time I think I will try reducing the amount of sugar and honey, and possibly trying to add in some coconut oil instead of canola. My children are in peanut free classrooms, so this is a great nut free bar to add to their snack/lunches at school.
These were very yummy! My kids even liked them. We added carob chips to the recipe and this was so good.I am gonna try next time to do half applesauce and half oil.
Following the advice of others and my own tastes, I made a few alterations: ground flax seed, extra egg, extra spices, 1/2 coconut oil 1/2 applesauce, cut the sugar and honey in half. Well, the mixture was extremely dry and powdery, so I ended up blending in about a cup of buttermilk to moisten it properly. They taste yummy out of the oven! I would add 1/2 cup dried fruit or chopped nuts next time.
These are FANTASTIC! I made the recipe as written, except that I omitted the sunflower seeds. It makes a huge batch though, so don't be afraid to cut it in half the first time. My roommate and I ate the entire pan in one week though! Next time I think I will try to cut out some of the oil by using applesauce and perhaps add some dried cranberries and almonds.
Didn't have sunflower seeds so used some millet I had. Took them on a camping trip and the whole family ate and liked them. Will make these again and store in the freezer. Better than store bought!
I loved these. They are healthy and a great homemade energy bar. I highly recommend for a healthy snack alternative.
Great basic recipe. I didn't have seeds but used chopped nuts and a grain oatmeal (cooked) with half the oil. Hmmmm good. I look forward to trying the other suggests from reviewers soon.
This was very easy to make and very good. I cut back on the honey, and added almonds, sunflower seeds and chocolate chips. I did like the other reviews said and added an extra egg so it wouldn't crumble and it came out perfect. Next time I will maybe add some dried bananas or some other kind of fruit. Peanut butter would be a good addition also.
I made a few alterations to this recipe, and took some advice from other posters. I added an extra egg, and it still turned out a little dry, but are still pretty good. I used 1/2 cup of regular dark chocolate chips, and 1/2 of white. I used a cup of cranberries. I doubled the sunflower seeds since I could not find seasame seeds, and added 2/3 cup of sliced almonds. They were very thick because of the 9X13 pan I used, and I think I should have used the batter for cookies instead. I have been eating small sqaures for breakfast the past couple of days, and am taking them to a bike race this weekend. I'll post up how my team likes them.
Yummy! I ground my flax, used coconut oil in lieu of canola, homemade chocolate chunks, and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Everyone kept asking for more! I cut the sugar and honey but next time I'd cut back even more, these were still VERY sweet!
Yummy these are delicious. I made exactly as recipe advises and found them perfectly tasty but a little crumbly so maybe I'll add an extra egg next time. I think these would be great with coconut and almonds too!
WOW these just came out of the oven and they taste amazing. I made a huge batch for my boyfriend since he is participating in a 12 hour mountain bike race and asked for some "high energy food." i followed some suggestions given by others and added 1/2 cup of applesauce while halving the amount of oil, and also omitted the chocolate chips and used dried cranberries. i didn't have wheat germ so i added an extra cup of quick oats, and i also added 1/2 cup of chopped toasted almonds. this is a very versatile recipe that i'll be using in the future!
My bf gobbled these up- I added an egg since others said it was too crumbly- it made them a little dense but we liked them that way, they seemed more filling than a granola bar, and held together just fine. Also ground the flaxseed first -since they are not digestible unless you do- using a coffee grinder. These feel like good healthy filling food, not like candy bars- the seeds added lots of crunch in a dense bar. Will probably add more spice next time, just my preference- this is a great fast snack!
This is a fantastic recipe! The pieces I took to work for my snack were quickly stolen and eaten, and then I was asked by those who did the stealing for the recipe. I cut the pan into smaller squares so I can just grab a few for after the gym or whenever. I put the dry ingredients into my standing mixer bowl, then mixed the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. I added the wet to the dry, and voila, they were ready for the pan. I had no problems spreading them into the pan, I used the back of a metal spoon. I look forward to sharing this recipe with my friends! Oh! I used 1/2C apple sauce and 1/2C oil as suggested. They were nice and moist!
I changed this quite a bit, because I live out of the US now and can't find all of these ingredients! But my husband needed something really healthy for his cycling, and it was so great to find this recipe! I halved the sugar and honey, took out the oil and added 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 mashed banana. Replaced the chocolate chips with dried fruit. I didn't have flax or wheat germ, but since I took out some of the liquids it doesn't seem to have hurt them!
Ditto to the last few reviews. Use ground flax seed instead, substitute apple sauce for 1/2 the oil, add M & Ms or another flavor to mix it up. They are very dense and filling... great for kids who need the calories.
Very easy to make and delicious. I packed the mixture down in the sheet cake pan and they made very nice dense bars. I didn't need to modify the recipe - it came out moist and chewy - there was no need to add extra eggs, though I did use both graham and buckwheat flours just because i had them in my cupboard. Will definitely make again.
Have made this a few times now and learned this is a VERY versatile recipe. Like others suggest, use 1/2 the honey and the 1/2 the sugar. Also 1/2 the oil (I used coconut oil) and replace the other 1/2 with applesauce. Increasing the egg by 1 also helps prevent crumbling. Double the cinnamon and also add 1 t ginger. Also, on the last batch I had an extra ripe banana so blended that and added it too... adds to some of the sweetness but also a nice soft flavor add.
These bars are good, I followed some of the other suggestions such as using 1/2 applesauce 1/2 oil and 3 eggs. I also added white chocolate chips and some dried cranberries. I wish I had used a jelly roll pan instead of a 9X13. The bars a very thick and took longer to cook than the recipe stated.
Finally a decent granola bar recipe! I see I forgot the flax(I would grind), used cranberries 1/2 white&dark chips, almonds and the called for nuts/seeds and used 1/2 applesauce to 1/2 olive oil, unsweetened coconut and no brown sugar. Next time I would use real maple syrup for honey.
Kids and parents agree: delicious, healthy and substantial...Froze a second batch for quick self-serve breakfast.
Very yummy. I've made this three times already. My grown boys love it and my toddler girls eat it up also. The very first time I made this recipe I made it according to this original recipe. The second and third times I altered it just a bit. I did not add the chocolate chips but instead I added dried cherries. I also switched the brown sugar for cane sugar. I will try next time halving the oil and using pumpkin puree instead. I love the texture and flavor of all varieties I have made. I also subbed wheat bran for the wheat germ and it was still delicious. I will make a double batch next time and freeze for future use. Thanks for posting such a wonderful recipe.
These are really tasty and hearty. I think I should have cooked them a few minutes longer but they still taste good. I left a few out but froze the rest to be enjouyed later. I did not have sunflower seeds and used flaxseed meal instead of hte whole seed. I also followed other reccomdendations and used half apple sauce, half oil. I will totally make these again instead of buying bars.
I just LOVE this recipe. The only change I made was the same as some of the others have done, 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 oil, and it turns out great... It even freezes really well! I grab one on my way out of the house in the morning, and it's ready to eat by the time I get to my desk, and is great washed down with some good coffee! :)
These were fantastic, and a not too sweet way to start the day, or pre-work out with a cup of coffee or big bottle of water. I substituted dried cherries for the chocolate chips and added some pumpkin seeds as I didn't quite enough sesame seeds. I will definitely make these again.
My husband and I love these! I made them as is with the exception of substituting 1/2 applesauce for the oil as suggested by others. I froze quite a few of them and they come out just fine from the freezer. Highly recommended.
Great bar! I was afraid my kids wouldn't like it, so I tripled the chocolate chips, and added craisins, and mini-marshmallows (just a 1/2 c.). I still calculated 3 grams of fiber and 4 g of protein per 2"x2" bar, the way I made them, so that's great! I mostly stuck to the recipe other than the kid-friendly additions. I like them too :)
I'm a shift worker with frequent short-changes from late nights to early mornings and sometimes only get about 3-4 hrs of sleep in between. So I was looking for some kind of ready-made breakfast that I could just grab out of the freezer and go. These are perfect and I'm definitely going to make them again. I made two changes: first I used half unbleached all-purpose flour instead of all whole wheat flour because I'm not a big fan of whole wheat and thought it might be too much for me. I also threw in some leftover dried cranberries I had - about 1/3 cup - just to use them up. I didn't find these to be too crumbly but the batter was crazy sticky, probably because of the honey, and I couldn't spread it into the pan properly. I ended up covering with a sheet of plastic wrap and pressing down on that, for a clean and easy panful to pop into the oven. These are delicious and so easy to make, I'll never buy prepackaged bars again. Thanks for the great recipe Amy!
These are GREAT! My husband takes them to work and my kids really like them as well. I use raisins in place of the cocolate chips.
Fantastic recipe! My husband is a energy/protein bar nut and he LOVED these bars.
I omitted oil and replaced with 1 cup of applesauce. It was really dry and tough but a good base taste...next time will try 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup applesauce. I rate it a 4 star because i think my error was the problem.
These are awesome! I've made 3 batches now and will keep doing it until I find something that is better - IE cheaper to make without sacrificing healthiness... not that these are overly expensive but not exactly cheap either. But all our family and friends love them!
If I could give this more then 5 stars I would. They are fantastic!!
These are good...but I thought they would have a little bit more flavor. Next time I might try adding more cinnamon to spice them up a bit more!
I have read all the reviews and have taken quite a few of the same ideas. I would like to add that instead of the extra egg I added 1/4 cup of almond milk or coconut milk.
I would prefer to give this a 4 1/2 stars if I could. This is a great energy bar recipe, but I would rank it just a tad under 5 stars because I do feel that if you follow the recipe without modifications, it is a little high on the sugar/oil side. I followed this recipe to a T and am not sure why some folks say it turned out crumbly. perhaps it was overbaked? mine turned out incredibly moist and full of flavor. My finicky 12 yr old even loved them and several kids on his track team tried them and liked them also. I'm making them again tonight with modifications based on my own tastes/preferences and liked the idea I read by others of subbing in 1/2 cup applesauce for some of the oil. I also think using the honey and maybe only 1/2 c of brown sugar will be plenty. It was almost a bit too sweet with a full cup of each. but overall, we love this recipe and this is a great bar for my son to take with him to school and eat prior to his 2 hr daily track practices. oh, and if you are using flax seeds, you must grind them before adding. Bodies can't digest whole flax and then you aren't getting the nutrition benefits of having the flax in there. Just use a coffee grinder to grind them up and toss it in.
Great recipe. Like others I subbed ½ cup of the oil with applesauce and added an extra egg. I didn’t have sunflower seeds so I used hemp seeds, and hubby didn’t want chocolate so I added ½ cup coconut and ½ cup raisins instead. Was easy to cut and liked that it’s soft not hard and crunchy. Will be making these again.
It's a great snack for teenagers that are active. I add 1/3 more honey and a few more chocolate chips
Excellent energy bars. Very tasty. A big hit at my house. The family loved them.
I have not made these yet, but the bars look exactly like ones baked by a lady who had a health food store about 30 years ago. I had given up ever finding a recipe for them and just stumbled onto it. The bars are dense and can be a bit crumbly, but so much better than anything you can buy at the store. My all time fave!
Followed directions exactly and they came out great! Very dense snack :)
I drastically reduced the amount of sugar which made it a bit dry and bland. Next time I'll add dry fruit ilke currants chopped apricots and a few chopped nuts probably almonds. I think that will make it a fav!
After reading many reviews I made with 1/2 cup of oil and 2/3 cup of applesauce. They weren't crumbly or too cakey. I made them in a jelly roll pan to get hi net bars and baked for 22 minutes and they turned out perfectly.
love these! such an easy snack to put together. i love that it is a completely natural energy bar, and costs much less to make!!
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