This recipe should be called Cranberry Cherry Chocolate Chip Coconut Pecan Honey Maple Peanut Butter Chewy Granola Bars, but that is quite a mouthful. In short, I cleaned out my pantry. Never before has spring cleaning tasted so good.
The Story
I used to think granola was for old people. Growing up I would strongly resist my mother’s attempts to buy healthy cereal. If it had the word “oats,” “bran” or “granola” on the box, I would loudly protest if she tried to put it into the shopping cart. I insisted only on cereals loaded in sugar, like Lucky Charms or Cookie Crisp. Life didn’t get any sweeter than having cookies for breakfast!
Now that I’m older, I am sometimes amazed to find myself putting oat, bran and granola cereals in my shopping cart of my own free will. Oats and bran make it into my morning routine on a regular basis. However, to be honest, I’ll still have the occasional cookie for breakfast.
This particular granola bar recipe has so many sweet ingredients it is a lot like having a cookie for breakfast.
The Moral of the Story
Granola is not just for grown-ups. It’s for the young-at-heart too.
About the Recipe
When it comes to granola, I have two go-to recipes and both are from Allrecipes.
- When I am in the mood for crunchy granola, I make Megan’s Granola.
- When I want a chewy granola bar, I make this Granola Bars III recipe.
This recipe is my own variation on the Granola Bars III recipe using leftover ingredients from previous baking adventures I discovered when cleaning out my pantry.
The Cast of Characters
The oats in this recipe are the key ingredient to keeping it healthy.
The Play-by-Play
Mix together the dry ingredients.
Mix together the wet ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Press the mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
Slice into bars and enjoy!
Recipe: Clean Out Your Pantry Granola
Summary: A moist, sweet and chewy granola bar
Ingredients
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup cherry chips
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup coconut
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper in a 9×13 pan and spray with Pam.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, dried cranberries, cherry chips, chocolate chips, coconut, wheat bran, salt, cinnamon and pecans.
- In another smaller bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, honey, maple syrup, peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and press the mixture into the 9×13 baking pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Let cool completely before slicing into bars.
The Footnotes
- About the baking time: If you like your granola bars more crisp, bake for about 30 minutes instead of 20 minutes.
- About making substitutions: The beauty of this recipe is that it is so versatile. You can substitute any mix of ingredients you like. Just be sure to substitute the same proportions of dry ingredients to moist ones as called for in the original recipe.
Number of servings (yield): 24 bars
Meal type: breakfast
My rating:
Additional Resources
Here are a few other granola recipes I’ve seen lately that sound good, but I have yet to try. If you’ve tried any of them, let me know how they turned out.
- Coconut Granola Crunch from the Curvy Carrot
- Strawberry Almond Granola from How Sweet It Is
- Cherry Pecan Granola from The Parsley Thief
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars from Something More
- Coconut, Chocolate, Cherry Granola from Keep It Simple Foods
- Breakfast Oatmeal Bars from Anja’s Food 4 Thought
- Peanut Butter Granola Bars from a Photo a Day
- Fig, Date and Almond Granola from Brown Eyed Baker
6 replies on “Clean Out Your Pantry Granola”
I eat granola all the time. Seriously think I may have a problem. Love this combo you put together. I think that is what I like about granola, there are just an unlimited number of possibilities and combinations.
Thanks! It’s been fun experimenting with different variations.
Granola that borders on cookie? I am so sold! I love the cherry chips I haven’t had those since I was a kid. Can’t wait to try!!
Thanks so much! I only discovered cherry chips recently and am loving them! Hope you enjoy this when you try it.
I love granola in any form! This looks splendid!! ♥- Katrina
Me too! Sometimes it is hard to decide whether to make crunchy or chewy granola. I love them both!