12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Week 2–Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Welcome to Week 2 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog event hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic! There were so many great recipes last week and I can’t wait to see what everyone made for this week! Check out the links in the hop below and head over to Meal Planning Magic to learn more about joining in the fun!

This week I decided to make chocolate chip granola bars. Yes, granola bars. I realize that these are by no means a traditional Christmas treat but I think they would be a great item to give away at the holidays. First of all, these aren’t your traditional crunchy granola bar. They’re more like a dense oatmeal cookie (if you’ve ever bought those oatmeal to go bar things these sort of remind a little bit of those). But these are sweet, especially with the chocolate chips thrown in.
These also freeze great and would be a breeze to add to a gift basket or bag. To freeze just wrap each bar in some plastic wrap and then place in a sealable bag or container and put in the freezer. You can then just add the wrapped bars to a cute little bag (Wilton makes great holiday themed bags for cookies and candy) or stack and tie together with a pretty bow. Presto! A perfectly gift-able item.
These bars are also great because, as we all know, after all the eating that happens from Thanksgiving until the end of the year it would be nice to have something available that was both homemade and not totally horrible for you.
Outside of the holidays these are a great item to make as well. They come together incredibly quickly – I’m talking not even 10 minutes. And the bake time isn’t much longer. You can make these without any crazy ingredients (I had everything on hand already). Plus, I eat a lot of granola bars, they’re my go to snack at work and while out and about, so it was nice to have something so familiar to reach for but in an even better version because I knew exactly what I was eating. Considering how expensive store bought granola bars can be and all the packaging waste they create these are such a great alternative.
I will definitely be making these a lot – for the holidays and all year round.

Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars
From: The Frugal Girl
Ingredients
2 Cups Quick Oats
1 Cup AP Flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed (can use 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup to make the bars more or less sweet)
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Honey
1 Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan very liberally.
In a large bowl mix together the first 6 ingredients.
In a small bowl mix together the last 4 ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture in the large bowl. Stir until it is completely mixed.
Pour the mixture into the greased pan and spread it evenly over the pan using your spoon or spatula (or hands!).
Bake at 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. Once completely cool cut into desired size. If freezing or gifting wrap each bar individually. If not freezing or gifting you can store these in an air-tight container on the counter.
Check out the Frugal Girl’s site for variations including an oatmeal raisin version and using wheat germ in this recip.e