No Fail Granola Bars

Granola is the perfect on-the-go food.

I am lucky enough to shop at a local health foods store that dispenses granola in bulk so I don't have to worry about making it on my own. And the selection is ridiculous. Seriously.

This week I have maple almond granola and dried blueberry granola in my cabinets, which is fantastic for a quick greek yogurt, honey, and granola breakfast before school in the morning.

It's also superb for granola bars, which my boyfriend loves because he has limited time in between his classes.

This simple recipe will convince you to stop buying boxed granola bars from the store and just make them on your own in bulk! This method is so much cheaper in the long run.

You'll need: brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, your favorite granola, rice cereal, and whatever else you want to add to these; you could incorporate chocolate chips, nuts, pretzels, raisins, and etc. Today I'm adding a little chocolate because, well, I love chocolate!

Start off by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. 

In the meantime, add all of your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

Make sure it's all good and mixed!

When the butter is melted, add the rest of the ingredients: brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. This is also where I'm adding my cocoa powder, if you are so inclined to do so, as well!

Stir everything together until the sugar is dissolved into the mixture.

Pour the sugar mixture into the dry mixture.

Stir it all up! This part can be a little difficult because the sugar quickly hardens, so try to work a quickly as possible!

Pull out a 9x13 or similar sized baking pan.

Pour your granola mixture into the pan.

Press everything down until it's as compressed as possible.

Looks good, right? :)

Now, just stick it in the fridge for about 15 minutes and you're good to go!

Mini granola bars for a quick snack!

No Fail Granola Bars
(Makes about 12 bars)

Ingredients:

2 cups granola
1 cup rice cereal
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) of butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (optional)
1 cup extras* (pretzels, raisins, chocolate chips, nuts)

*If you don't have any extras, just replace them with more granola and/or rice cereal.

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, mix together granola and other dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. When butter is melted, add sugar, vanilla, and honey. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Pour the sugar mixture over the granola mixture and mix well.
5. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
6. Cut into squares and serve!