Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I've been wanting to bake something for awhile but just haven't had the inspiration or a recipe I was dying to try until today. I really wasn't sure what to expect with these bars. I wanted them to have healthy things in them, but  be tasty too. In the end, they definitely deserve both those definitions!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

                                                                               

Adapted from Buns in my Oven

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (can sub dried fruits for the chocolate and peanut butter chips)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ -I used wheat bran because that's what I already had
• 1/4-1/2 cup flax seed
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup canola oil - I only used about 1/4 cup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix well. Pat the mixture out into the foil lined pan.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes if you want chewy granola bars or for 20-25 minutes for crunchy granola bars. When the edges start to brown, remove from the oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Use a pizza roller to slice into bars. Finish cooling completely before removing from the pan or they will break apart.

The dry ingredients

Liquid ingredients

In the foil lined pan about to go in the oven. Do not skip the foil lining part, it makes taking them out of the pan and clean up a breeze.

Done