Homemade granola bars save me ££ each month
For the past few months, I've been systematically reducing store bought processed foods and trying to replace them with homemade healthier stuff.
I experimented with 9 different recipes, none of which worked for the combination of chewy texture and relatively modest calories I wanted + taste.
So I experimented with 3 more self-concocted recipes before landing on one that's perfect for our taste buds.
This is a full sized tray bake and it disappears in 36 hours flat. So i bake these almost every other day now if not daily!
Recipe:
600g coarse cut oats
20g honey
80g oil
130g soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
A splash of vanilla
A pinch of salt
20g chocolate chips
Preheat oven 170 degrees Celsius
Line a large sheet with parchment
Throw all ingredients apart from chocolate in a bowl
Wear a food safe glove and work all the ingredients together rubbing them between your fingers
Dump it all out on a lined sheet. Spread out with your fingers raking it across the sheet
Place another sheet of parchment on top, and press down all over using a flat instrument eg base of another pan or another baking sheet.
Once flattened, use a sharp knife to create shallow cutting lines, not all the way down
Sprinkle on chocolate chips
Press chips into the oats with the back of a spoon
Bake 10-14 minutes until golden
Cut all the way through the shallow lines immediately
Leave to cool, then box up.
Tips
If you have an identical baking sheet,use that to press down the granola. You can also cover the whole thing with a clean towel or paper/cardboard, place all of it on a clean floor surface, then step on it with clean feet to press down.
Use your fingers to tumble the chocolate chips out of the shallow cuts and on to the actual rectangles