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Hi Bold Bakers!
Some of my favorite recipes to create are homemade versions of things you typically buy. From homemade cereal like my Bran Flakes Cereal recipe to Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches, no matter what it is, it’s always better homemade. My Homemade Granola Bars recipe is no exception. These quickly baked granola bars are the perfect portable snack packed with flavor, crunch, and chew, but with no mystery ingredients.
Homemade recipes are just better. I’ll prove it.
Why Do Granola Bars Need To Be Baked?
While some granola bars are no-bake, like my No-Bake Granola Bars recipe, my Homemade Granola Bars are the opposite.
The reason I chose to make a baked granola bar recipe is not just because I absolutely love the toothy crunch and toasty flavor of the oats, but because the baking process helps them hold together without the use of too much liquid sweetener.
These bars start by combining a bit of honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar in a pan with butter. This forms a little bit of a sticky syrup that goes a long way. After making the syrup in a large deep pot, I go right in with lots of oats, shredded coconut, chewy dried cranberries, and chopped almonds. From there, this mixture gets pressed into a small sheet tray and baked until golden brown.
After coming out of the oven, I cut these into perfectly portioned bars — but it doesn’t stop there. In true Big and Bold fashion, I dip them in chocolate. They are sure to get you through the extra-long afternoon!
Are These Good For You?
While granola can be a great source of fiber and protein, it’s worthing noting that bars can also have a lot of sugar. With that in mind, it’s good to enjoy this healthier choice in moderation as you would with any sweet snack.
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Chewy Granola Bars
- Baking tray and parchment paper
- Medium saucepan
- Spatula
- Wire rack
- Measuring cups
How To Make Granola Bars
Here’s how you can make homemade granola bars (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- Preheat the oven and line the baking tray with parchment paper.
- Combine butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Simmer until sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from heat and fold in oats, salt, coconut, dried cranberries, and almonds using a spatula.
- Transfer to a baking tray and press down the mixture with a spatula into one even layer.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Lift the whole sheet off the tray and cut it into bars.
- Dip each bottom part of the bar into melted chocolate. Allow the bars to set the chocolate side up on the rack.
- Drizzle remaining melted chocolate on as a garnish. Allow setting.
Why Are My Granola Bars Sticky?
This can happen if you don’t allow the syrup base of the bars to properly come together. To avoid this, I suggest letting the butter melt all the way, then add in the brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup. Don’t be tempted to over stir this mixture, either. Just allow the sugar to naturally dissolve.
After the sugar has dissolved, allow this to simmer over low heat for just a few minutes. This should yield the perfect result! If your granola bars are coming out a bit sticky, it may also mean they need to be baked longer, as after baking they should be crunchy on the outside and hold together on the inside.
Why Are My Granola Bars Too Crunchy?
While on the one hand, you don’t want your homemade granola bars to be too sticky, you also don’t want them to be too crunchy either. To make sure they come out just right, I suggest you bake them for the exact time in the middle rack of the oven, allowing them to toast up evenly.
Another trick to getting them to the perfect texture is to really press the oat mixture down into the lined pan before baking the bars. This will compact the oats and all the mix-ins, making sure that the whole mix bakes and toasts up evenly from corner to corner.
What Can I Add To My Baked Granola Bars?
I love the combination of coconut, dried cranberries, and almonds. All topped off with chocolate this is heavenly. However, my granola bar recipe is wonderful to get creative with, from raisins and other dried fruit to whatever mix of nuts, like sunflower seeds, you have on hand, you really can’t go wrong here.
If you are looking to make a slightly less sweet granola bar, feel free to leave out the chocolate too! And if you’re looking for an even sweeter granola bar, toss in mini chocolate chips for chocolate chip granola bars.
How Long Do Granola Bars Last?
If they’re sealed in an airtight container at room temperature, granola bars have an expiration date of about a week. But they won’t necessarily go bad after a week’s time. While safe to consume after a week, they’ll just be a little stale.
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Full (and printable) recipe below!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (3oz/85g) butter (melted)
- 1/3 cup (4oz/115g) honey
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups (9oz/255g) rolled oats
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 ½oz/43g) coconut (shredded and unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup (2 ½oz/71g) dried cranberries (or raisins)
- 1/2 cup (2 ½oz/71g) almonds (chopped)
- 1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (melted)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C), then line a 9 x 12-inch baking tray with parchment, set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Allow simmering until the sugar has dissolved and a dark syrup has formed.
- Remove from the heat and fold in the oats, salt, coconut, dried cranberries, and almonds. Using a spatula, continue to fold everything together until evenly coated in the syrup.
- Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared baking tray and press down using your spatula into one evenly packed layer.
- Bake the granola bars for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and toasted on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before lifting the whole sheet out of the tray.
- Cut them in 1 1/2 x 4-inch bars. This will yield 18.
- Dip the bottom half of each bar in melted chocolate then allow to set, chocolate side up, on a rack. If your bars do not set up after 30 minutes to an hour, place them in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened.
- Once the chocolate has set, use the additional melted chocolate to drizzle over the top for garnish. Once the chocolate drizzle has set, enjoy!
- Cover and store the granola bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. They can also be kept in the freezer for longer.
Hi Gemma,
Can I Use Quick Cook Oats In This Recipe As My Store Doesn’t Cary Rolled Oats?
I love this recipe! I’ve made this three times now with my own changes to suit our tastes. It basically works with the ratio of wet to dry staying about the same. I’ve removed the coconut and chocolate. I use a mis of 1 cup toasted almonds, walnuts, cashew roughly chopped, I also do like half a cup of sunflower seeds and pepitas that are already salted. And a cup of dried cranberries and blueberries mixed together. I think I use a lot of cinnamon, not sure, but close to a tablespoon. And instead of maple syrup, I use Lyle’s… Read more »
Made this recipe exactly as it was written after watching the video 2x. Cooked it for 25 mins. It was slightly overdone and did not hold up to being cut. It will make a tasty granola topping but couldn’t make bars from it.
Hi!
Just wanted to know if the coconut is essential?
Thank you!
Hey Gemma, thank you for this wonderful recipe… Can we replace the butter with extra Virgin coconut oil and what quantity we need to replace it with.
Thank you….
I made the granola bars this morning! I didn’t dip the bars in chocolate. I put half the quantity of almonds and added pecans. My husband and I loved it. I feel like I’m going to make this recipe again and again!
Hi Gemma. Made these with my daughter for her home school project. Which asked for a healthy snack for teenagers. They came out amazing. Thank you 😊
Hi Gemma!
These granola bars are so DELICIOUS!!! i made these for my kids and they absolutely LOVED IT!
Hi Gemma!
Just wanted to say thank you for this amazing recipe! I had some rolled oats a few days out of date (oops) so thought why not turn them into something 🙂 discovered your channel last year when I finished school and suddenly got really into baking! Your channel has inspired me so much! Sadly only half of the granola bars held their shape whilst the other half broke up but fear not! I sprinkled the crumbs on top of ice cream and it was amazing!! Tastes like an even more delicious ANZAC bikkie! Thank you again 🙂
I’m thinking about trying to make your granola bars but what if you’re not crazy about coconut flakes? Can you leave them out and add something else and replace it.
I love raisins and different types of nuts. I love chocolate chips and M&Ms
They look great can’t wait to try them