Chocolate Cranberry Nut Flax Seed Granola Bars
I don’t consider myself a cook or a baker. I am not famous for a dish. My better half is much more creative in the kitchen than I.
We eat a lot of granola bars. Marcus has one every morning as he gets ready for work, as he needs something quick and easy to eat before he takes his medication.
Now….I suppose you wonder, why I would go to all the work to make these granola bar when it is some much easier to buy in the store, well here is my reasoning:
1st) The granola bars at the store are expensive.
2nd) They only out 5 or 6 in a box. Well then I need to shop 1 time a week or buy 2 boxes every week to stay ahead. And if we both eat one a day that 10 bars. So then that’s 2 boxes a week and then to avoid my every dread grocery purchase and shopping trip I would need to but 4 boxes a week, hope you see where I was going with that.
3rd) I do try to pay attention to the chemicals put in my body. I am not a health nut, just the opposite I suppose…..and I wont stop drinking a Coke once a day either, don’t care what’s in there……. I like it…..it taste good……so its good for me.
My sister Brittany was having a Pampered Chef party(online) the other week and I don’t normally participate in these types of thing. But I wanted to be a supportive sister. Plus, I find there products quite expensive, for your average hard working girl.
But I found this cute little gronola bar maker and just had to have it. Not sure why…..well I had good intentions I suppose. Lord knows it wasn’t cheap. And of course it sat in my cupboard for several weeks before I used it.
Anyways….this recipe was super easy! But definitely not super healthy! I didn’t really need to put all them chocolate chips in there, but I love chocolate.
1 and 1/2 old fashioned oats
Nuts- I threw in a handful of mixed nuts
Heated a pan on the stove and toasted the oats and nut until they were a little brown and fragrant
Poured then in bowl with 1 cup of chocolate chips.
(Only suppose to use 1 cup of add-in for this recipe). I added a few tbsp. of flax seed and a handful of dried cranberries. So way over the 1 cup of add-ins. (next time I will stick with the only 1 cup total of add ins)
Mix the oats, nuts, and add-ins togther
Then in a bowl melt 1 tbsp of butter(oil if you prefer), 1 tbsp of brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of honey(I use organic) in the microwave. One all melted together. Put in the oat mixture bowl and mix it all together.
Then I just scoop a spoonful of the mixture in the nice little pampered chef granola bar maker and pressed in there the best I could.
Put the cover on and put in the fridge for awhile to harden. Done….they taste pretty good.
Its a work in progress and they are not perfect and they may never be perfect. But they are perfect to me.