Homemade Granola Bars

A while ago I professed my love for homemade peanut butter granola.

Naturally i love granola bars too, and the Little and I daily occasionally share one for a snack.

While they might be tasty, the store bought ones are undoubtably full of bad fats and preservatives, 

and i do try to avoid packaged food for the most part, just 'cause.

So that, coupled with the fact that the nearest grocery store is 20 minutes up the road and i was under no circumstance leaving this house today (due to my sheer laziness, and the thought of hauling a 15 month old 

around in the rain is just super unappealing to me today)

I simply decided to make my own!  If only all of life's decisions were so easy...

Homemade Granola Bars

These are really easy, took only one bowl (yes!) and mere minutes to make, and baked in roughly 25 minutes.

I would have barely set foot in the store: )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl simply mix together:

2 cups Rolled Oats

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/2  cup Bran / Wheat Germ - or you could just add more flour

1 cup Flour - I used half whole wheat

3/4 tsp Cinnamon

3/4 tsp Salt

Now add in your fun stuff, which should equal about a cup:

Chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries or blueberries, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts....etc!

I just took a one cup measure and added raisins, coconut and sunflower seeds until it overflowed a bit.

Make a well in the centre and add in:

1/4 cup Oil (add this first, it will help everything else slide right out of your measuring cup)

1/4 cup Honey

1/2 cup (or more!) Peanut Butter
2 tsp. Vanilla

& One Egg, lightly beaten.

Mix 'er all up with a wooden spoon / your hands and pat it into your prepared pan.

Chuck it in the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges.

Remember - your oven is your own beast!  Mine runs hot, and I left the bars in for 25 minutes which made them crunchy, which is just the way i like 'em.  If you want chewier bars pull them out sooner rather than later!

Cool for only 5 minutes, then cut into your bars while still warm. (they'll be too hard to cut if you let them cool).

Enjoy and Happy Friday!!!!

 { Recipe adapted from HERE }

{ Be Different, Act Normal & Six Sisters Stuff }