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A couple of months ago, a good friend and fellow mom sent me the recipe for her chewy granola bars telling me that non-refrigerated, non-crumbly snacks are key. I get it now and made my own version today.
Because doesn’t every mom present their 10-month old with snacks tied in raffia ribbon?
First, my friend’s version, and my version below. I am a recipe tweaker but wanted to include the original so that you could play around with it yourself. Enjoy!
- 3 Cups rolled oats
- 1 Cup bran flakes, smashed
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 t vanilla
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 T maple syrup
- 1/2 cup yogurt (I used vanilla)
Combine all ingredients and press into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting. Cuts great with a pizza cutter. SO YUMMY AND EASY! Makes about 20 commercial-sized granola bars.
HEABlet Bars
Yield 20 Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup quinoa flour
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 3/4 cup fruit paste* (Soak fruit of choice for an hour and then pulse in blender or food processor with 1/8 to 1/4 cup soaking water until paste forms. I used dried plums.)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt
*Could sub applesauce, apple butter, pureed sweet potato, or canned pumpkin.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325℉
- Combine all ingredients and press into a greased 9×13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting (cuts great with a pizza cutter).
Summer loved them! I did too, but they weren’t very sweet. My friend’s original recipe called for 1/2 cup honey + 2 TBSP maple syrup instead of the fruit paste. So, you could go that route if you prefer something sweeter. I put a few of the bars in the fridge and wrapped up the rest to keep in the freezer. They’ll be great to take with us when we’re out and about. Many thanks to Leslie for the recipe!
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
These sound good — I love the idea of fruit paste. The only thing holding me back is the coconut — I’ll have to figure out what to sub in its place.
Holly, my friend actually used 1 cup bran flakes instead of the coconut. So, any type of cereal would probably work great. I want to experiment with some type of rice cereal and add some crunch!
Interesting idea with the fruit paste as a sub. I bet dates would provide even a bit more sweetness than plums. I love that first shot of them too, so crisp and pretty!
I can’t believe Summer is already big enough to be eating hard-ish foods! I remember when she was just born
Brittany,
I know – seems like just yesterday!
Those look so good! I love the fruit paste idea. I love soaked dates. They are like nature’s glue + sugar in vegan baking. And love the subbing in with pumpkin. Tis the season for Pumpkin Mania Hits the Blogosphere, circa 2011
And the roasted quinoa that you then blend. Forgot about that trick. I am lazy and just do that with oats. Don’t need to toast or roast those
the main reason I want to make this EXACT recipe? so I can call them HEABlet Bars.
these sound so good, and the photos are beautiful too!
Homemade baby food is simply the best! We used to stir in a little black strap molasses into oatmeal for the girls for some extra iron (I could never get away with that now – I wish I would have stuck with it!) but that could probably work well here. I love squeezing in extra nutrients whenever I can… it was admittedly easier when they were smaller!
Alison,
That’s a good idea – thank you!
*giggles* I’ve never been able to take the rebranding of prunes as dried plums seriously! *giggles* But laughter aside, these looks scrumptious. Hurrah for butter!!
Hannah,
I know, I feel kind of silly saying “dried plums” myself.
Yum. Just, yum.
Hi Heather,
This is a great recipe! Thanks for sharing. Have you considered also using almond meal? I like using Trader Joe’s raw almond meal (as a flour substitute) in my cookie recipe.
Health Bee,
I have, but we’re not giving Summer almonds quite yet. Holding off on the nuts for a little while but will probably try soon. She does great with seeds – loves her sunflower seed butter and flax seeds!
We’ll be trying these as soon as I can find unsweet coconut! Anytime I ask for lite coconut milk they look at me like I have a 3rd eye and bring me coconut cream.
The boys aren’t allowed anything ‘granola bar like’ for snack, teacher says its too messy. But they’ll be perfect for around the house and weekends.
Sam,
These bars are great – chewy and non crumbly, especially when kept in fridge. Perhaps they’d get the teacher stamp of approval?
Love! Want to try them! If i dont have quinoa flour-what would be the best sub out of whole wheat, ap, coconut or chickpea flour?
Erica,
These are great. My friend used all purpose flour in her version, and so yes, whole wheat should work fine. Hope you like them. Kalyn will eating them before you know it!
I love thick granola bars like that!! Do you have to use quinoa flour or could you sub any type of flour? I’m in the process of moving and have spelt and barley flour available!
Hi Fallon,
Yes, my friend’s original recipe called for 1 cup all purpose flour, and so you can sub whatever you’d like for it. I find quinoa flour works really well in place of all purpose or whole wheat flour.
I LOVE food on the go recipes… and non-squishy oatmeal. With its no-sugar-added allure, this feels like a winner. Except that it needs dark chocolate. Everything needs dark chocolate.
Stephanie,
I agree, but no chocolate for Summer quite yet. Soon…very soon.
What are reasons *not* to give babies chocolate? I always thought this had to do with milk chocolate and giving them WAY too much sugar too soon—is this a “potential allergen” thing?
Stephanie,
Yeah, they say to wait until the baby is a year old. Allergies to chocolate aren’t that common but they are possible. However, I think most of the problems can be attributed to other ingredients in the chocolate parents give their kids – peanuts, soy, dairy, etc. I did read the darker the chocolate the better, and so we’ll probably let her try some of CD’s Lindt 85% stash soon.
(if you really love her, you’ll give her the 90%. FAR superior. FAR.)
YUM! These look so versatile, too! I bet the pumpkin would be fabulous wit some spices. A Pumpkin Pie Bar. Or even subbing nutbutter for the fruit puree…peanut butter bar. Or some bananas? Oh Gosh I need to go experiment!
Alex,
I look forward to reading about your experiments.
These sound perfect! I bet figs would be so good in this one!
That’s awesome that Summer loved them too! They look great.
Yum! Love the presentation
Summer is going to grow up eating the best snacks! Nothing beats quality homemade food. I want some!
Yum!
I think I’ve said this before, but my mom used to feed me cooked oat bran that she would puree with raisins. Apparently I loved it as a child. I should make this again. Haven’t had oats/oat bran in ages.
Summer is so lucky – no Quaker chewy bars for that girl!
I love the idea of pumpkin (with loads of cinnamon, of course) for a fall treat. Did you soak your oat when you made these?
Jennie,
Nope, no oat soaking for this recipe.
Anything with a stick of butter is sure to be a hit in my house! Love this recipe. And yes, I too give my daughter a snack with a raffia ribbon!
Actually…she’s lucky if she gets a plate…
They look delicious! If a baby loves them, then you know a grad student will! haha
I loved the name you picked out for the bars! They aslo look really tasty and healthy for your little one! I love all the different variations you can do as well with the bars!
They look great! she is going to love a bar named after her.
ohh im so glad this recipe came up, as i have been meaning to make granola bars for my gluten free brother, who is always hungry! I am going to make these for him and surprise him when he gets home from school! I might have to add cherries and chocolate chips though because those are his favorite flavors
Mmm they look great! I’ll just try them out for a few months until Adrienne is old enough to share with me.
Oooh, these look delicious! And I love how the ingredients are all natural and wholesome. It kills me when I see people feeding their babies that overly processed junk!
These look great! I can’t wait to try these for my my girls school lunches.
These look so good! I can’t wait to make these and a few variations…like kabocha….yumm!! Summer is a very lucky little girl.
Love these Heather! So adorable and no sugar!!
You know, I literally NEVER crave dairy, but darn you for always making butter sound good
I’m making the Harvest Bread right now! Thanks to you and Jill for sharing the recipe
Hope you’re having a great day!
Ooh! Those look really good! And the idea of using pumpkin sounds fantastic!
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