Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

2/21/2013

My family is completely addicted to granola bars. We eat them so fast that I can't seem to keep an adequate supply in the pantry. It seems like they disappear just as quickly and I restock them. I have made homemade granola bars in the past but for whatever the reason, I just cant seem to keep up with making them at home. That is until now. I found this recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars on the Browneyedbaker.com and it looked super easy. No baking, no mess, no fuss - and cheaper than store bought granola bars.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
1/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup crispy rice cereal
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir the oats and rice cereal together; set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar, honey, and butter together over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

3. Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients.

Pour the oat mixture into the prepared pan and press down to ensure that the ingredients are tightly compacted in the pan. (I used a glass to press the mixture into the pan.)