We love snacks around here! Really, who doesn’t? But seriously, I will feed my kids breakfast and then we’ll go out to the library, park or swimming with friends. And the second we get there… the kids are more interested in having a snack than going to play!
Anybody else’s kids do that?
I make them go play first. Because they don’t need snacks every second of every day!
But granola bars are a staple in our snack pantry! I like to rotate which granola bars I buy so I don’t get tired of always having the same flavors, textures, etc.
Well recently I discovered that you can make homemade granola bars and it is super easy!! Plus it is such an easy way to get variety because you can add in whatever ingredients you want!! YES!!
I love the chewy Quaker S’mores granola bar and feel like S’mores are the perfect summer snack, so I thought I would throw together a S’mores granola bar! I’m not quite ready for summer to be over and we have one more big vacation before school starts again. Granola bars are great for long road trips, as well as a fun lunch box treat or after school snack! This is a great way to enjoy S’mores all year long.
The great thing about making it yourself is that you can control the ingredients. Sometimes I think the S’mores granola bar from Quaker is just a little too sweet. I can cut down on the sugar when making it myself!
I threw these granola bars together in about 10 minutes and then set them to chill in the fridge for an hour or so and then they were ready to go!
It’s been so great to have a snack that we can grab as we’re running out the door… usually a little bit late!
- 4 Tbsp butter
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup rice cereal
- 2 tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Toast your oats in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes or so. Until they just barely start to turn a light brown. This is to help enhance the oat flavor.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together butter, brown sugar and honey. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Let simmer for about 2 minutes and then remove from heat.
- Mix together oats, rice cereal, graham cracker crumbs. After the honey mixture cools a bit, drizzle over the oat mixture and stir to combine. Toss in the majority of your marshmallows and stir them in. They will start to get a little melty! That's good!
- Press the mixture into *loaf pans or a 9x9 pan. Press hard for several minutes to get the mixture to become firm. Sprinkle chocolate chips and a few marshmallows over the top and press firmly into the granola bars! The sooner you do this step, the more melted the chocolate chips will be. I wanted mine to be melted a little so I did it pretty quickly after pressing the mixture into the pans.
- Set the granola bars in the fridge for an hour or two to harden. You can then cut and package them individually. They store well on the counter for about 5 days and will be very chewy. They also store well in the fridge! I like to keep them in the fridge because it keeps them hard. Then I can take them out for trips and they'll soften up a bit as they warm to room temperature.
- *You can lay aluminum foil across the bottom of the pan and spray with cooking spray to make it easier to cut and transfer the chilled and set granola bars.
Try them… and let me know if you love it! And feel free to come on over and check out some more of our favorite delicious snacks.
Like these Apple Sandwiches…
Or this delicious, mouth-watering Summer Bruschetta!
Or hello!! How about this S’mores popcorn… we all know that healthy snacks are great… but sometimes we just want some good ol’ chocolate and melted marshmallows. Right??
