No-Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I have four boys.

They eat a LOT. 😉

I have two big boys, ages (almost) 11 and 8 and two little Irish twins, ages 2 1/2 and 1 1/2.

I guess I’m a little cheap, but I love making homemade snacks for my older guys to take in their lunchboxes instead of buying them. My oldest always asks me to make granola bars. I feel like I’ve tried every recipe on planet Earth and all have been…meh, okay.

Until I tried this one! It. Is. So. Good. I’m pretty sure I ate half of them before my boys could even think about packing them into their lunches! (Bad Mommy! 😉 Oh, and they’re healthy too. What?! I have made these several times now and they are the bomb. So glad I found this recipe. I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know what you think!

(I’m drooling just looking at my mediocre pictures, that’s how yummy they are, hehe!)

Stir it together…

 …and let it bubble for 2 minutes, letting the sugar granules dissolve. Then add 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Throw together 2 cups of oats, 1 cup of crispy rice cereal and a few spoonfuls of ground flax seed and wheat germ in a large mixing bowl and pour your caramely (is that a word?!) mixture over it. Stir it up!

Press firmly into a lightly greased small jelly roll pan. I wanted thicker bars, so I squeezed them into one side. Sprinkle some of those cute little mini chocolate chips and cool on the counter for an hour or so until the chips firm up. Slice into bars and devour!!

These babies are so goooooood! Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal
• spoonful flax seed
• spoonful wheat germ
• 2 Tbsp. mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a meduim sized pan, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a boiling bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir.
2. Mix together oats, rice cereal, flax seed and wheat germ in a large mixing bowl. Pour warm caramel mixture over dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
3. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan (about 12x8x1) and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. If your pan isn’t small enough, push the mixture into one side. You really want to press them down hard in order to pack them together tightly so they don’t crumble when you cut them. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly.
4. Cool on countertop for about two hours or until the chocolate chips are firm before cutting into bars. Store in plastic storage container or Ziploc bag at room temperature. ENJOY!!