Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

If there was a theme for our most recent trip, it would be ... wrong shoes for the wrong activity.👟😂  I literally wore the wrong shoes - every single day, for every occasion, on our trip through Greece.  I hiked rocky, mountain trails in strappy sandals, strolled sandy beaches in wedge heels and tackled a strenuous 12 mile hike in a pair of very unsupportive, slip on sneakers. 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️

And contrary to what you're probably thinking, I didn't chose my shoes based on smart fashion choices either. (I'm pretty sure I don't even own any fashionable shoes.)😂  Every morning, I got out of bed and put on the footwear that was most appropriate for the activities that we had scheduled, and headed out for the day.  What I couldn't plan for were the impromptu hikes, watery adventures and random donkey rides that we encountered along the way. 🤣 

Determined not to let my wildly inappropriate footwear stop me from enjoying any of the Santorini adventures - I slipped by bare feet into my 10.00 shoelace-less sneakers and hiked this beautiful mountain ridge.  By the time we did this hike - both ways - we had walked 12 miles and climbed the equivalent of 199 flights of stairs. 😬🏔 It was a lot of walking but totally worth it.  The views from this trail were absolutely breathtaking. 🚶🏻‍♀️

I may not have had the right shoes for this hike but I don't want you to think that I was completely unprepared.  I did manage to pack water, granola bars, sunscreen and extra camera batteries in my backpack.  I think my hiking priorities are a little out of sorts. 🤣 🥾  Snacks are important though. 😅

Granola bars are my go-to, quick energy snack on a hike when I start to get those hangry feelings.🤤 Store bought granola bars are good but chocolate filled, homemade, oat based bars are even better.  The kind that blurs the line between a sweet, gooey cookie bar and a healthy, protein rich energy bar. 😅 I'll let you decided where these Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars fall on the granola bar spectrum.  ​

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
1 cup flour
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons rolled oats
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt 
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup + ⅓ cup chocolate chips

Combine flour, oats, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in bowl.

Melt butter half way in bowl.  Stir until fully melted.  

Combine sugars.  Stir in melted butter. 

Stir in vanilla.  

Mix in egg. 

Add flour in 3 separate batches.  

Fold in chocolate chips. ​Spread into an 8" square baking pan fitted with a greased parchment sling.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 350.  

Cool completely.  Slice into 16 squares. 

Ciao!

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