Delectable Kid Pleasing (and mommies too) Gluten-Free Granola Bars
(Not the greatest photo hehe but this isn’t “gluten-free photographer” lol.) I began couponing and sale shopping on January 1st and one of my 1st purchases was some nice brand name of oatmeal for fifty cents a container. The other night I was staring at all my cheap oatmeal, wondering what I could make with it because I am the only one eating the stuff (it was coming out my ears), and then it dawned on me, granola bars for the kids! I peeped into the pantry hmm lots of peanut butter, several boxes of rice crispy cereal and of course my quick oats so it just made sense to make granola bars, after all I am all about saving money and those things cost a small fortune with hungry little kids and their friends eating them all up. I found several recipes online for these but none seemed simple enough to me, I was tired from spring cleaning and just wanted to throw things together so I made my own little recipe and it turned out quite nicely despite my zombie-like state of mind. Yes yes, I used the dreaded corn syrup but to me, it is the same as any other sweetener and it was sitting there in the pantry saying “use me, I’m cheap” so I did. I chose to make peanut butter bars with candy-coated chocolates inside, they were delish, chewy and every bit as yummy as store-bought but for pennies on the dollar.
(here is the recipe typed up quickly lol, just as I had written it down)
2 cups quick oats
2 1/2 cups rice crispies
>put both in a big bowl
1/2 cup corn syrup (can use honey or agave nectar or even some maple syrup)
4 packed Tbsp light brown sugar
2 Tbsp salted butter
>bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly
>take the pan off the heat and add next three ingredients
2/3 cup smooth (can use chunky) peanut butter or any kind of nut butter if you wish
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon (just there to enhance the sweet flavor, you barely know it is there)
>pour the wet mixture into the big bowl of dry and stir, add the chocolate last so it does not melt
>dump into a foil-lined 9×13 pan (OR can use a small jelly roll pan for thinner bars) that has been sprayed very thoroughly and pat down a bit
>cool in the fridge until the “glue” sets and then take out, unwrap and cut
1 cup of whatever you wish to mix in!
Mix-in suggestions:
plain M&Ms
dried fruits
your favorite nut roasted or raw
coconut
mini marshmallows
golden grahams
chocolate chips
…the sky is the limit!