Nobody will ever guess that these chewy, nutty, chocolatey, and packed with flavor energy bars are low-fat. Everyone’s favorite nuts and fruits can be included, and they’re quite simple to make. Because we adore Kashi® and chewy bars so much, my family has since ceased purchasing them. When made using rice flour, these are gluten-free and seem professionally prepared because to the tiny amount of corn syrup that keeps everything well-combined and gives the bars a wonderful sheen. Have fun experimenting with various nut, dried fruit, and topping combinations! Even almond butter is effective!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ⅔ cups old-fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted peanuts
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.
- Stir peanut butter and melted butter together in a bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar, honey, corn syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt; stir. Mix applesauce into peanut butter mixture.
- Combine oats and flour in a bowl; toss to coat oats with flour. Stir peanuts and raisins into oat mixture. Pour peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture; stir to coat completely. Spread mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and continue baking until chocolate melts and edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes more. Spread melted chocolate chips with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to coat the top. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
- You can use whole wheat flour or rice flour instead of the all-purpose flour.
- You can use any nuts or dried fruit in place of the peanuts and raisins.
- If using Craisins(R) instead of raisins, consider cutting the amount of brown sugar slightly.
- For a larger flavor, use 6 tablespoons of melted butter. You can also substitute canola oil for the butter.
- If wrapped in plastic wrap or in baggies, these will keep in the fridge for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks and can be frozen for a month.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 248 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 32 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 156 mg |
| Sugars | 17 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made these pretty much following the receipt exact. The only change I made was adding some almond flakes along with the peanuts. They taste pretty good however I felt like the pan size should have maybe been a little smaller to allow a thicker granola bar. It was also pretty crumbly and didn’t hold its shape overly well. I would probably make them again though with just the smaller pan and hopefully being thicker with a slightly longer cook time would allow them to hold together better.