Gluten Free Granola Bars

    My gluten free son hates (HATES!!!) store bought gluten free granola bars. That's legit, they are pretty nasty! Then we discovered that one bar from Nature Valley was wheat free (yes, I know they process it on the same machines as their products with wheat-but I needed something for this seriously picky kid to eat, especially at school!). Now, for no reason, he doesn't like them anymore! Yikes. 

     Well heck. I decided to make my own for him. With Pinterest and the internet in general, it's easy to find recipes to suit. I ended up using a combo of recipes (basically what I liked from a few), and making these. Picky, picky Caleb likes them (for now), they are soft and chewy, not too sweet, and they were easy to make. 

Homemade Granola Bars
(makes a 9x13 pan)

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 Cup nut butter (I used almond butter, but peanut butter would work, and hazelnut butter would be delightful)

1/2 Cup honey

1/2 Cup unsalted butter

4 Cups quick oats 

1 Cup gluten free cereal (I used the g.f. brown rice Rice Krispies)

2 cups "mix". Use chopped mixed nuts, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, raisins, m&m's-whatever you want! I even used ground flax meal in this "mix".

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional*)


Method:

1. Put the brown sugar, nut butter, honey and butter in a medium-large sized pot over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.

2. Bring sugar mixture just to a boil and then continue cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes stirring constantly, or until sugar dissolves.

3. Stir in oats and cereal until evenly coated.

4. Let mixture cool for 5-10 minutes.

5. While the mix is cooling, put parchment paper into a 9X13 baking dish (you can halve the recipe, and use an 8x8 dish). Make sure you have some parchment overhang to use as handles to pull the bars out to cut them. 

6. *Sprinkle 1/2Cup chocolate chips into baking dish. This is optional, but will make the tops of the granola bars nice and chocolate-y (aka-picky child bribery!). 

7. Once mixture has cooled slightly, fold in "mix" and press into the prepared dish. If the cereal/oats mixture is too hot your chocolate chips will melt if you have them in your "mix", so let it cool a bit longer in that case before adding the "mix". 

7. Place dish into refrigerator (or if it's the winter, set them outside!) and let bars set up for 1-2 hours.

8. Pull the bars out of the dish using your parchment handles, and gently flip upside down (if you put chocolate chips in the dish first, the bottom will be your top). If you didn't put the extra chocolate chips into the dish first, just pull the bars out. Set on a cutting board. 

Cut into bars!

Dry ingredients

    I cut the bars into a size that fits into certain plastic containers I have, so that I know they will fit for school lunches with no litter. 

    For general storage, place them all into an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge to pull out as needed, but they taste better at room temp. 

    What would you put into your "mix" for these granola bars? Make a batch this weekend for and tell me what you added.