Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Quaker's Chewy granola bars are the best, aren't they? I have eaten tons of them in my time. I always brought the variety pack, but the plain old chocolate chip ones were my favorites. These bars have always seemed like a good, healthy snack option, so there were several years in which I did not leave the house without one in my purse.

But even though Quaker claims on its product site that these are "a tasty option for your active family," the long and involved ingredient list suggests otherwise:

"Ingredients

GRANOLA (WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, BROWNSUGAR, CRISP RICE [RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, SALT, MALTED BARLEY EXTRACT],WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED WHEAT, SOYBEAN OIL, DRIED COCONUT, WHOLE WHEATFLOUR, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SOY LECITHIN, CARAMEL COLOR, NONFAT DRYMILK), SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, COCOABUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), CORN SYRUP, BROWN RICE CRISP(WHOLE GRAIN BROWN RICE, SUGAR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, SALT), INVERTSUGAR, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, GLYCERIN, SOYBEAN OIL. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SORBITOL,CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, WATER, SOY LECITHIN, MOLASSES, NATURAL ANDARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), CITRIC ACID."

Ok, I admit, it's not as bad as some other processed snacks out there, but there's still a lot of stuff I'm not interested in, like sorbitol, calcium carbonate, and BHT.  We can totally do better.

This recipe I found on Tracey's Culinary Adventures is a great copycat without all the icky preservatives. The flavor is spot on. My only criticism of the original recipe is that the honey made the bars a bit too gooey. Mine fell to pieces whenever I picked one up. In later batches, I subbed in brown rice syrup which creates a much firmer texture. If you hold one of the bars horizontally in the air, it will still start to sag, but it retains its integrity a lot longer than the versions I made with honey, making for a much better portable snack. 

Granola bars have become the staple snack in our house, so I've been trying out lots of recipes lately. This doesn't come in as the healthiest of the bunch (not with half a stick of butter! - my vegan pumpkin-apple granola bars are at the top of the health chart), but these crunchy, chewy bars are high on the yummy list. It's a good thing they're quick to make, because they don't last very long around here!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures.

2 c instant oats (Tracey's recipe says that rolled oats should not be used - I tried a batch with them and thought they were fine, however it was the instant oats version that got Jeff to stop in his tracks and exclaim that they looked like "real" Chewy bars!)
1 c crispy rice cereal (I use Whole Foods' organic brown rice crisps - the only three ingredients are brown rice, cane syrup and salt)
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/4 c brown rice syrup
4 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp mini chocolate chips (the only processed-sounding ingredient in my recipe is in here: soy lecithin)

Line an 8 x 8" baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side. Lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats and rice cereal.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. When nearly melted, add the sugar and brown rice syrup. Stir well to combine and dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low for about 1 minute, still stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the wet mixture onto the dry mixture and stir well to moisten everything.

Transfer to the prepared pan, pressing the mixture down firmly with a spatula and evening out the thickness. (Compressing the bars with the spatula will keep them from falling apart as much later, particularly when you're cutting them.)

Scatter the chocolate chips evenly across the top. Compress the top with your spatula one last time, so that the chips are firmly embedded within the mixture.

Set the pan aside to set for at least 2 hours. Then use the parchment overhang to remove the bars from the pan, slice them and store them in a tupperware at room temperature. (You can individually wrap them, but I saw no need, since we eat most of ours at home. I haven't had problems with the bars sticking together in the container either.)

Maple Pecan Granola

I present to you one of my favorite things: maple pecan granola.

I'm not a big breakfast girl. I'm not saying I skip it - I'm gunning for food as soon as I wake up in the morning - but I'm content with a nice bowl of cereal. The problem with cereal is that it tends to be super-processed, especially if it's fortified with vitamins and minerals (not bad things in themselves, but I'd prefer to get them naturally). That and a desire for more whole grains inspired me to move to granola. But if you've ever bought a lovely bag of artisanal granola from the grocery store, you know that it can be incredibly expensive.

Enter this recipe from Naturally Ella, which solved all my problems. I've been making this stuff nearly once a week for the past eight or nine months. I never get tired of it. Sometimes I branch out and try different granola recipes, but this is what I always come back to. Just a few simple ingredients, but packed with flavor. It's not clumpy, so it's better as a cereal than for random snacking, but I still grab messy handfuls throughout the day to munch on, which keeps me from munching on less healthy snacks.

I can also throw in a health claim (in case you miss all the propaganda from your cereal box): this granola has been a staple in the diet that brought my cholesterol down forty points over the past year. Yes, that's right - eating a plant-based diet full of vegetables, whole grains and legumes and avoiding animal products can make a huge difference if you're willing to stick to it. The deliciousness of this oat-y, nutty, crunchy granola in a bit of skim milk helps me stick to it every day.

Maple Pecan Granola
Adapted from Naturally Ella.

2 c rolled oats
1 c chopped pecans
1/2 c wheat germ
pinch of salt
optional: 1/3 c shredded coconut (I throw it in if I have it around, like this time)
1/4 c nut oil (I've used peanut, walnut, almond - roasted peanut was my absolute favorite)
1/4 c grade B maple syrup

Preheat oven to 275° F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, pecans, wheat germ, salt and coconut.

Add the oil and syrup and mix until the oat mixture is evenly moistened. Pour onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 1 hour until toasty and brown, stirring every 15 minutes to keep the granola from sticking to the foil. Remove from the oven and cool completely before removing to a sealed container for storage. Enjoy with cold milk, over yogurt or by the handful!