Granola bars are a staple in our house. My husband has been known to eat nothing but granola bars for an entire day. We used to spend a small fortune on pre-made bars and, because I hate high fructose/ partially hydrogenated anything, we would typically buy the most expensive kinds. It was getting a bit out of control. I finally decided enough was enough and began my search for the “perfect” granola bar recipe. I wanted something that was packed with nutrition, filling (but without the puffed rice fillers), a little bit chewy and as delicious as possible. I eventually stumbled upon this recipe. It’s the perfect “base” recipe that you can tweak to fit your specific tastes and needs. Every batch I make (which is like every two weeks or so) comes out a little bit differently. For instance, this week I’m on a cinnamon kick. A few weeks ago I was all about dried cranberries, and before that I was obsessed with putting flax seed in anything I created. The options are virtually endless. I usually keep all the “base” ingredients on hand and add whatever fillers I find on sale at the store.

The recipe below is from my latest batch. It’s probably our favorite version yet since it’s almost cookie-like (I stand FIRM that they are not cookies because they do not have butter or eggs in them).

I’d also like to note that I made a pretty cool “mistake” discovery with this batch. I usually add the chocolate chips last but, this time around I was feeling a bit lazy and I mixed them with the dry ingredients. When I poured the warm oil/honey mixture over everything it caused the chocolate chips to melt, making these bars much more chocolaty. If you want your chocolate chips to stay intact, I suggest you add them last.

Coconut Chocolate Granola Bars

Ingredients

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup almonds, chopped

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup honey

Directions:

Mix oats, flour, shredded coconut, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and almonds together

Melt shortening and coconut oil in saucepan over medium heat until completely melted and mixed together

Add honey and sugar to oils, stir well until honey is mixed in and sugar has dissolved

Pour oil mixture over dry ingredients and mix well.

Firmly press into a greased cookie sheet

Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375°F (For crunchy bars, bake until brown. For chewier bars, bake until just barely golden brown)

Cut into squares while still warm.

Like I said before, this recipe is our perfect granola bar. It may not be exactly what you like or want. Feel free to play around with different types of oils and fillers until you find what is perfect for you. As always, please let me know if you try this recipe out. I’d love to hear what variations you discover.