Chocolate Chips and Pistachio Granola Bars

Carlos like granola bars. He will always have one or two in his lunch bag so he can munch on it when he gets hungry. Granola bars are not cheap. It cost around $4.00 for a box of 5 or 6. I usually make it myself as it is not that difficult. Most important is basic proportion of chunky (nuts, dried fruits) to sticky (syrup, honey, sugar, peanut butter, butter or oil) and from there you can go to town with it. You can toss in things like oats, cereal, flax seeds, chia seeds etc. I will normally add in whatever I have in the pantry. The vanilla is optional and so is the cinnamon. The possibilities are endless. Since we like an extra crunch granola so I twice bake these bars.

Ingredients:

4 cups quick rolled oats
1/4 cup wholewheat or regular flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberry
1 cup chopped pistachio
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4cup agave
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degree F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place oats, flour, coconut, brown sugar, chocolate chips, pistachio and cranberry and salt in a large bowl. Give it a good toss until well combined.
3. In another bowl whisk together oil, vanilla, honey and agave until smooth and well combined.
4. Pour the liquid mix into the dry ingredients; toss everything together until it is well coated with the wet ingredients.
5. Pour the mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet and shape it into a large rectangle that's about 9x15 inches, and about 3/4 inch thick. Press and compact the granola together, and square off the edges.
6. Bake it for 50 minutes or until golden brown and dry to touch. Cool the granola on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then cut into small bars with a sharp knife.
7. I like crunchy bars, so I bake the cut bars again in the oven for 10 minutes. You don’t have to do this step if you like chewy bar.

Note: If you can find Agave you can always replace it with honey or maple syrup.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY, hosted by Vivian of Vivian Pang’s Kitchen .