Simple Homemade Granola Bars

I have a little notebook where I jot down recipes that are given to me by friends on scraps of paper, or from colleagues on post-it notes. Cooking is a favourite conversation subject of mine, so inevitably someone is always giving me a recipe to try. 😉

These Simple Homemade Granola Bars are a recipe given to me by a friend, during the time after university when I was single and learning how to cook for myself.

(It was also during the time where me and said friend would get together for  ‘Sex and the City’ parties, where we drank Cosmopolitans and watched through the six seasons together.)

So these granola bars really deserve to be called Laurel’s Granola Bars.

My favourite thing about this granola bar recipe is that it is SO SIMPLE. One bowl, 6 ingredients, 20 minutes altogether. Yes, 20 minutes from start to finish.

In addition to being SO SIMPLE, they are also SO CUSTOMIZABLE. In this recipe I used dried cranberries, but you could use any dried fruit – try dried peaches, raisins, dried mango?! For the seeds, I used pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, but again, mix it up according to your tastes!

All you do is throw together all the dry ingredients (oats, dried fruit, and seeds) into a large bowl, microwave the sticky ingredients (honey, peanut butter, and vanilla), toss together, and press into an 8×8″ square pan. Bake for 15-ish minutes, and you’ve got Simple Homemade Granola Bars!

Easy peasy. And a really great to-go breakfast option.

Let me know what flavour combinations you try!

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Simple Homemade Granola Bars

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

These homemade granola bars are SO SIMPLE! One bowl, 6 ingredients and 20 minutes from start to finish!

Course: Breakfast

Servings: 8 bars

Author: breakfast for dinner

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (either smooth or chunky, no sugar added)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup dried fruit, chopped (I use dried cranberries)
• 4 tablespoons seeds (I use pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, melt honey, peanut butter, and vanilla in the microwave for approx 10-20 seconds until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, dried fruit, seeds, and cinnamon and stir together. Pour in honey/peanut butter mixture and stir until everything is well-coated.
3. Press into an ungreased 8x8" square pan.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F, until edges are slightly golden.
5. Cool completely, then cut into 8 bars.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from my dear friend Laurel.