My hockey player was breaking the bank with his ask for granola bars, especially the protein packed ones. He wanted them fro school, before and after early practices, a quick grab after a game or practice. I could not keep up even buying in bulk at a big box store. When he wanted to upgrade to the protein ones, I had to figure out an alternative as those were two to three times the cost of the regular ones for half as many.
Along came the Black Friday Pampered Chef sale and up pops the silicone Pampered Chef Snack Bar Pan. It was a sign. I purchased it immediately and waited anxiously. While waiting I bought some chocolate protein powder as well. Once the Pampered Chef Snack Bar Pan arrived I could not wait to wash and put it to the test. Pampered Chef has two recipes, baked and non baked granola bars. We tried both but the non bake were not as good, and actually took longer to make. There is no baking but an awful lot of sautéing.
Our first batch was protein powder and peanut butter chips. AMAZING! Now I realized I might be making granola bars every other day. No worries as this is so easy. While 40 minutes in total time, 35 of that is baking, cooling or setting in the freezer. Since the Pampered Chef Snack Bar Pan is dishwasher safe, this is easy to keep up with. We have done a few different combinations, protein powder and Andes Mint chips, S’mores with mini marshmallows and milk chocolate chips, caramel cashew (chopped up a pre made caramel cashew trail mix from Target). The only warning is the s’mores and caramel cashew did “boil over” a little in the wells. However, I just used the Pampered Chef Mini Spatula as soon as it was out of the oven to reshape into the wells and they set like perfect granola bars.
What You Need
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup honey or agave nectar
3tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp melted butter or oil
1cup total add-ins:
Chopped nuts, dried fruit, chocolate morsels, crushed pretzels, crushed cereal, and/or sweetened flaked coconut, protein powder, etc.
Homemade Granola Bar Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the oats, baking soda, and add ins together. When I add protein powder I only add a quarter cup of that and then a little over a half cup of chips etc. Total add ins should not be over 1 cup in total if you mix an match. Add the brown sugar, honey and melted butter. Mix well.
Using the Pampered Chef Large Scoop or equivalent put a scoop of the mix in each well. The Pampered Chef Mini Spatula is the perfect size to press these down and scrape everything into the wells. One time I had extra mix and that was because I added to much in the add ins. Once all wells are in pressed down, bake for 14-16 minutes. Keep an eye on them as I found some ingredients like the marshmallows burned faster then others. Pull it out and set on cooling rack fro five minutes. Then snap on the pan top. Align the four “posts” on the lid with the holes in the middles section of the pan and press until they “click”. then the rest of the lid will fit nicely in the outside lip. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes. When done, pop these out and enjoy! For an easy less healthy snack, but still a crowd pleaser, check out the Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownies
Homemade Granola Bars
Equipment
- 1 Pampered Chef Large Scoop
- 1 Pampered Chef Snack Bar Maker
- 1 Pampered Chef Mini Nylon Serving Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Old-fashioned oats
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ cup Honey or agave nectar
- 3 tbsp Brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Melted butter Can substitute oil for the melted butter
- 1 cup 250 mL total add-ins:Chopped nuts, dried fruit, chocolate morsels, crushed pretzels, crushed cereal, and/or sweetened flaked coconut, protein powder, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Combine the oats, baking soda, and add-ins. Add the oil, honey, and brown sugar, and mix well.
- Use the Pampered Chef Large Scoop to transfer the mixture into the wells of the Pampered Chef Snack Bar Maker.
- Press down with the Pampered Chef Mini Nylon Serving Spatula as it is a perfect fit.
- Bake for 14–16 minutes, or until the oats start to brown.
- Remove the Pampered Chef Snack Bar Maker from the oven to a cooling rack. Cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack. Cover with the lid and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator until set.
- Either leave in the Pampered Chef Snack Bar Maker with the lid on, or pop out and transfer to an airtight container.
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