Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

I found a really amazing-looking recipe for these granola bars in cookie_chef's LJ, and it neatly coincided with j's new challenge. The premise of this challenge is to make something that normally costs a lot of money less expensive. $5 or less, to be precise. Well, I usually cook everything pretty inexpensively, so (once again, but this time with permission) I modified my participation a little, instead making something cheaply that normally is expensive to buy. Granola bars, as we all know, cost quite a bit of money to buy. They're what, $3 or so for a box of 6 of them? Not a good deal when you're on a budget. So I'm making these instead. Some of the costs I was guessing on, since I already had everything I needed to make these, and some of the ingredients I've had too long to remember what I paid for them. As per usual, my changes or added comments are in italics. Hope you enjoy!

"2 cups rolled oats - $0.30
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I may drop this to 1/2 c next time) - $0.50?; I used 1/2 cup
1/2 cup wheat germ $0.40?
1 cup all-purpose flour - $0.10
1/4 heaping cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky - $0.10; but really $0.20 because I misread it and used 1/2 cup; but don't worry, it didn't hurt it one bit
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips - $0.30?
1/2 cup honey - I have no earthly idea what honey costs, but I'm assuming this quantity is under 75 cents
1 large egg, beaten - $0.17
1/2 cup vegetable oil - $0.25
2 tsp vanilla extract - free, since it's homemade

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease a 9x13 baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, peanut butter, flour, and chocolate chips. I used my hands to rub the peanut butter into the other dry ingredients. Make a well in the center, and pour in the remaining ingredients. Mix, using your hands if necessary. It worked fine for me using a spatula. Spread or pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. It isn't necessary to use the entire pan. I filled the entire pan. The dough will hold its shape. Bake for 24-25 minutes, depending on your oven and pan selected. Watch it closely. You want the edges to begin to get golden brown but the center may not look quite set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan. Overcooking will result in hard bars that are difficult to cut."

Total cost: $3.07 for a boatload of bars

Comments

  1. j.10:34 AM

    Those look good!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allie10:41 AM

    Thanks! I'm enjoying them! The extra peanut butter turned out to be a bonus.

    ReplyDelete

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