Kid (and Adult!) Friendly Granola Bars

I posted about this recipe twice on facebook and twitter and many of you have been asking for it, so here it is! It is fantastic with either raisins or chocolate chips (I found more than the amount recommended though was overpowering! Iy!). Both our small group and our kids (not to mention us two :D) have absolutely DEVOURED these! So make a double batch, they won't last long!

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup bran
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9×13 inch baking pan (and by generously, I mean get the butter out and the paper towel and slather it up!)

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, bran, cinnamon, flour and salt. 

Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using a wooden spoon, or your hands. Especially your hands if you like to lick them when you're totally finished. There's just something about licking raw egg and batter off your hands after you've tirelessly mixed and mixed and mixed....I digress. Oh but wait, first you must add the raisins! (Or chocolate chips in this case.)

No, this is not a paid advertisement for Chipits. I just thought I'd show you the bag in the background instead of the giant mess that is on my counter.

Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

A picture is worth a thousand words. I suppose I could have left that instruction out entirely and just shown you this picture instead!

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (TOTALLY depends on your oven! Mine is not very hot and they were very done in just under 30 minutes) in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. 


And yes, I found this out the hard way. I left them overnight thinking, oh, I'll just get them out in the morning. Yeah. I bent a knife and worked on my tricep muscles. But I got them out, and they were goooooooood. In fact, they're sitting on my counter right now and I totally just opened up the container and took a big bite. 

Breakfast anyone?