Servings: 10
Serving Size: 1 Bar
WW Points+: 5 Calories: 198.7 Total Fat: 5.7g Fiber: 3.5g
I loved the chewy granola bars when I was little and we always had them for snacks after school or in our lunch boxes. I never realized how easy they were to make. This recipe is adapted from the granola bars made by Rachel Ray but I added my own ingredients that I love and made them a little lighter by using light butter and light brown sugar. These are a great snack for kids during or after school, or even for breakfast when they are running out the door.
I chose dried cranberries, pistachios, and chocolate chips to give these bars a nice sweet and salty flair. The little bits of red and green would make these cute holiday snacks too (only 110 days until Christmas!...But who's counting...). When forming these into bars, I only used half of the width of my baking sheet so that they would be thick enough to keep their shape. They are sticky so forming them to one side of the sheet was very easy.
These certainly didn't last long and I had to whip up a new batch the next day--a different flavor of course and I will share that recipe with you tomorrow!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups Quick Cooking Oats
- 1/3 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Agave Nectar, or Honey
- 1/4 cup Light Butter Spread (I used I Can't Believe it's Not Butter, Light)
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 cup Dried Cranberries, chopped
- 1/4 cup Shelled Pistachios, chopped
- 2 tbsp Mini Smi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Spray a small baking sheet (at least 1 inch deep) with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine Oats, chopped Pistachios, and chopped Cranberries. Mix to combine.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the Butter, Agave, and Light Brown Sugar until melted.
Bring to a low boil. Stir in Vanilla Extract and remove from heat.
Pour the mixture over the oats, cranberries, and pistachios. Mix well to coat every piece with the mixture.
Pour the oat mixture onto the baking sheet. You will want the bars to be about 3/4 of an inch thick to prevent them from falling apart when cut. This will determine how much of the baking sheet will actually be used. My baking sheet is a 9.5 x 13 so I used a little more than half the width of the baking sheet and smoothed out the side with a spatula.
Pour the Mini Chocolate Chips over the top and gently press them down. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until firm.
Slice into 5 long strips, then in half to make 10 bars. Store in a container with wax paper to prevent them from sticking together.
Enjoy!
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