I love granola bars. They are a great snack at my desk (boo, desk job) at work. They are a great oh-my-god-I-don’t-have-time-to-eat-breakfast quick breakfast. They are also useful for when I actually DID eat breakfast, but am still hungry. I just grab one and eat it on my way to the subway station. The problem with granola bars is that they usually have a few ingredients that I don’t really want to eat in them. Or the are covered in chocolate (a few chocolate chips? Not the same). Or they are just very expensive, and there are only 5 in a box.
My solution? Make them! I’ve made Ina Garten’s recipe a while ago, and while I really like this recipe for when I need to go nutless, I now work somewhere where I can eat peanut butter. And I’m going to take advantage of that! So when Elise over at Simply Recipes posted a granola bar with peanut butter in the title, I knew I would have to try it. I actually made them that night! Good thing I always have natural peanut butter and a whole lot of honey in my pantry.
This is definitely a recipe that you don’t need a mixer for, but lazy me thinks that it’s a stand mixer recipe. I think box cakes should be made in a stand mixer, too, though, so don’t go by me. If you ARE using a mixer, make sure to beat the egg white by hand just a little bit to fluff up. I find this helps, especially since when the bowl is almost empty, it’s hard for the whisk to reach the bottom.
Peanut Butter and Honey Granola Bars, adapted from Simply Recipes:
Makes 12-16 bars, depending on how you cut them.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I upped this because I really couldn’t taste the cinnamon with only 1/4 teaspoon)
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 stick butter, melted
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over the pan.
3. Pulse 1/2 cup of oats in your food processor until finely ground.
4. Place ground oats, the remaining oats, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the egg white until frothy (with a mixer or by hand).
6. Beat in the honey.
7. Beat in the peanut butter.
8. Add the oat and cinnamon mixture to the wet mixture.
9. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir well to combine.
10. Add the chocolate chips.
11. Transfer to baking pan and spread so that the mixture is even.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
13. Use a sharp knife to cut into 12-16 bars. Place on baking sheet.
14. Return to the oven and lower the heat to 300 degrees. Bake for another 15 minutes.
15. Cool completely before eating!
