Granola Bars

From: CountryMama

On Jul 14, 2008

These are fantastic! I've tried a lot of different granola bar recipes, but never found one with a good enough taste and texture. This definitely did the trick, although I made a couple of substitutions: I replaced the flax seed meal with a mixture of wheat germ and psyllium husks, used cashews and almonds for the nuts, and raisins, both regular and chocolate covered, chopped, for the the dried fruit. I replaced the margarine with butter, cut down on the brown sugar slightly, and used 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup corn syrup, and 1/4 cup maple syrup for the liquid sweeteners. I don't think I packed it tightly enough or let it cool properly, so it was a tiny bit crumbly when I cut it, but after I wrapped them individually (and squeezed a little) I put them in the freezer for a little while and they were perfect. A definite make-again. Thanks!

From: Chef #236862

On Jul 6, 2008

This recipe is exactly what I have been looking for! Excellent recipe! I omitted the coconut, used peanut butter instead of butter and added 1/4 cup wheat germ. These are extremely healthy and taste pretty good considering that. If you want a more candy-like bar add more sugar or add chocolate chips or both! My cutting board wouldn't fit into my 9x13 pan, but a loaf pan worked perfectly & I stood on it, the bars were compact and uniform. Thanks for the great recipe Mary!!!!

From: Debidoo

On Jul 9, 2005

Well, I finally got this recipe down after 4 tries! Let me tell what I learned NOT to do! 1) Do not substitute flax SEEDS for flax seed meal, you need it to hold them together. 2) If you add chocolate chips, wait until the mixture is almost cooled then mix them in and transfer to pan. Otherwise, the chips melt and you end up with "Chocolate" Granola Bars! 3) If you add peanut butter, don't melt it with the butter and corn syrup mixture. Wait until the end and stir it in as one of the last ingredients. A good amount of peanut butter is 1/4-1/2 cup, depending on your taste (and omit the cinnamon and fruit for this and for choc. chips). 4)Don't replace the corn syrup with all honey (I tried to be Ms. Healthy)...they'll taste gross. NOW I'll let you in on what I did RIGHT! 1) Adding 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup makes them taste wonderful. 2) So does adding something crispy like Rice Crispies or even some other cereals like Kix or Cocoa Pops. When I make these with PB AND Choc. Chips, my three kids, and even my husband DEVOUR them within about 3 days! I think I will be making these for years and years to come. Thanx, Mary! — posted Jul 8, 2005

From: cheezcake

On Sep 5, 2003

Excellent recipe. Now to keep the kids out of it ALL of the time. Easy to make. Only thing I did different was switch the margarine with peanut butter, added 1/4 cup wheat germ and 2TBSP ground up sesame seeds.