Peanut Butter Granola Bars
You know all those “10 things I wish I knew before I had kids” Or 5 things I wish I’d been told before I became a mom” lists that are always floating around Facebook and such? They bug me. Because I would have found nothing helpful about knowing how many diapers I’d have to change or how little sleep I could function on. And the important stuff (like REALLY important stuff)- like how you feel like your heart has split in two and the other half is walking around outside of your body, or how you can literally ache when you’re away from your babes too long- you really can’t understand that until you experience it anyway. There’s no point in someone trying to explain that to you. Parenting is kind of a learn-on-the-job experience.
That said, I do kind of wish someone had been like, “Yo, stock up on coupons for peanut butter because you’ll go through a LOT of it.” I also would have registered for one of these for my baby shower. See, that would have been helpful. Because, no joke, we go through so much peanut butter that I found myself thinking the other day, “I wonder why Costco doesn’t make even bigger jars of peanut butter.” Needless to say, these peanut butter granola bars were a big hit around here. They’re pretty effortless to make (ONE pot! No bowls! Boo yeah!), and are portable and not fally-aparty (I was an English major, can you tell?) or sticky like lots of homemade bars I’ve tried. These come endorsed by my peanut butter-loving crew.
You’re welcome for that peanut butter coupon, tip, too. Should I change the title to, “THE ONE THING I WISH I KNEW BEFORE I HAD KIDS”?! Ok, just Peanut Butter Granola Bars, then.
Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Line an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving a little bit of foil hanging over the edge of the pan.
- In a medium saucepan, combine peanut butter, honey, brown sugar and salt. Cook over low heat until everything is smooth and melted. Pour in the vanilla and stir until completely incorporated. Add the oats, rice cereal, and peanuts and stir well to coat all of the oats and cereal. Pour mixture into the foil-lined dish, then very firmly press the mixture into an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Lift bars from dish using foil overhang and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.