Homemade Granola Bars

Man alive, I must have looked through... ten granola bar recipes. Ok yeah that doesn't sound like that much when I say it... but it seemed like it took a while to land on a good one. I wanted something not too complicated that didn't require any special ingredients. A lot wanted dates as a binding agent. I'm not against dates, I just don't have any. I wanted to make these only using things I already had around the house. 

Enter "Simple, Soft and Chewy Granola Bars" by Joanne on Inspired Taste. I used the same recipe twice with very different texture outcomes. The first time I only had Old Fashion Quaker oats. They proved to be quite chewy but the bars held up better. The second time I used rolled oats and I don't think I can really call it a bar... it's so soft it's frustrating to eat and tote around with you in your purse. The first time I made these I let the sugar/butter/honey mixture heat to boiling accidentally and the second time I did not. I wonder if I caramelized the sugar some? hmm.

I had sunflower seeds, chia seeds and pistachios on hand. I used them as my fillings, and man... it was a really good combo.

The first time around I used these Old Fashioned oats, I highly recommend you use this kind over rolled. They are still chewy and kind of soft with these oats (aka liable to be squished under pressure) but they are more stable.

Baking the oats!

I measured the pistachios whole, but then gave them a quick pulse in the food processer before adding them.

All the fillings mixed and ready.

All the wet parts heating on the stove. I also recommend you let this mixture boil for a while. It will make a better glue that way, and will taste even more delicious.

Folding the wet into the dry.

Use a rubber spatula to firmly press the mixture into a lined pan. I lined with tinfoil, but I'm sure you could use plastic wrap or waxed paper. Then pop these in the fridge until they are firm enough to cut!

You can see they aren't very stiff when they warm up to room temp.

I wrapped mine individually and stored them in the fridge. They were great for breakfast or an afternoon snack.