Best Crunchy Oats and Honey Granola Bars
The most wonderful crunchy homemade granola bars, this is my go-to recipe when I need a healthy, wholesome treat around the house. Everyone loves these oats and honey bars, and they always go fast. Simple to put together and total dead-ringers for the store-bought variety, these are the perfect bars to enjoy for a quick breakfast on the go or an afternoon snack, crumbled over some yogurt (frozen or not) with fresh fruit and an extra drizzle of honey.
- Yield: Makes about 12 to 14 bars 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup honey, plus extra for drizzling
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 TBSP coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9” x 13” baking dish with parchment paper or foil and spray liberally with a non-stick spray. Be sure to leave some of the parchment/foil hanging over the edges of the pan for easy grabbing when you want to remove the bars.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon; stir to mix very well. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey and microwave until the oil is totally melted; about 30 seconds or so. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir to combine everything.
- Pour the honey mixture into the oats mixture and stir until everything is coated and well mixed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Spray the bottom of your measuring cup with more non-stick spray and use it to press down on the surface of the granola bar mixture – this will help pack it all in and create the crunchy bars we’re looking for (you can also use a glass for this – whatever works).
- Bake for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven. Drizzle the granola bar mixture with more honey, evenly over the whole surface area (about 1 TBSP) and then bake for about 6 to 8 more minutes, or just until you get a nice golden brown color.
- Cool for 10 minutes and then cut into bars (I do this right in the pan). If you wait much longer than that, the bars will harden to the point where cutting will become pretty difficult. Let them cool completely after cutting, before you store them/eat them.