☀granola bar experiment

Recipe ➊

2 cups trail mix

2 cups oatmeal

1/3 cup chocolate chips

3 ripe bananas

1 egg

2 T honey

Oven at 350℉, spray 9x13, bake 15-20 minutes

Recipe ➋

2 cups oats

1 cup cheerio cereal

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup dried mixed fruit (raisins, cherries, blueberries)

1/2 cup honey

2 egg whites

1 banana mashed (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup canola oil or applesauce

Oven at 325℉, spray 9x13, bake 25-30 minutes

Recipe ➌

4 1/2 cups oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

2/3 cup butter or applesauce

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 cups trail mix (chocolate, raisins, peanuts)

Oven at 325℉, spray 9x13, bake 18-22 minutes

The Results...

{Recipe ➊}                   {Recipe ➋}                     {Recipe ➌}

So which granola bars did my family like the most...

It seems to be a tie between ➋ and ➌. Recipe ➋ is nice and chewy and is great with the dried fruit. Recipe ➌ has a drier texture and I think it was the almond extract and M&M's that were used that won the kids over. I think that peanut butter could be used instead of the applesauce and these would be a tasty peanut butter granola bar. For any of these recipes I think they could be doubled and baked on a cookie sheet. Recipe ➋ had us put the oats on a plate and microwave for two minutes, I'm guessing this just helps soften the oats. We used applesauce rather than oil or butter and it that worked great. The options are really endless, just chocolate or just blueberries could be used to make a specific kind of granola bar. We also have some chocolate cheerios. Another idea was to add some ground flax seed for added nutrition. So I wrapped ours in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge.  

They are going fast!