A Recipe from Mary Casey's Kitchen

No Bake Chewy Granola Bars

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This recipe is delicious! Although the combination of chocolate, golden raisins, and toasted walnuts is my ideal granola bar, you can also use this recipe as a starting point for you own customizations. See the notes below for other flavor combination ideas.*

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats, divided
• 3 tablespoons shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter (best to use peanut butter with no added sugar)
• Dark chocolate (optional for drizzle)
• Coarse salt, such as coarse Kosher salt or flaky sea salt (optional for drizzle)
• 9 by 9 square baking dish (or similar size)

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse 1/4 cup of the oats into a rough powder until there are no large pieces remaining. This powder will help bind the bars together. **
2. In a large glass bowl, combine remaining rolled oats with the pulsed oats. Then add the coconut, walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips, salt and cinnamon. Mix well.
3. Add honey and peanut butter to the bowl. Use a spatula to mix all ingredients together. This will require mixing and mashing to evenly disperse the peanut butter and honey.
4. Once mixed, line a baking dish with parchment paper. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Once the mixture is spread evenly, press the mixture down firmly.
5. Cover the dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes. If you are skipping the chocolate drizzle, move to step 7.
6. Once the bars are slightly chilled, melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over the bars. The drizzle can be added to the pan, or after slicing the bars. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle the coarse salt over the bars.
7. Cover the bars and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 additional hour and up to 24 hours. ***
8. Enjoy! The bars can be stored in the refrigerator up to a week, or the freezer for much longer.

Notes

• * The walnut, raisin, and chocolate chip combination is my favorite. However, I also recommend dried tart cherries with toasted pecans. You can use the measurements for any customizations you like. Try apricots in place of raisins, or M&Ms in place of chocolate chips.
• ** Pulsing the oats results in oat flour. You can buy oat flour at the store, but I prefer to make my own. Less expensive and one less item to store in the pantry. You can pulse the oats in a blender, food processor, or spice grinder.
• *** Allowing the bars to chill 24 hours will create more cohesive bars with the best flavor. Sometimes though, a snack cannot wait that long, after 30 minutes the bars have usually chilled enough to be eaten.