Oat Bars

These are good for a healthy bar. My intent was to feed these to my toddler, but he wasn't interested. I think they were too hard and too bland for him. The second batch I added 1/2 cup of applesauce (unsweetened and straight from the crock pot) and 1 tsp of cinnamon. This made them a little more sweet and a little more chewy. He enjoyed eating this batch. For my third attempt I will increase the applesauce to 3/4c and then I think they will be perfect for my toddler! I, of course, end up snacking on them too. Update: I didn't notice much of a difference between the 1/2c and the 3/4c of applesauce for the fresh bars, but the 3/4c was definitely better for the batch that was frozen. These bars freeze well.

I rather liked these bars. I used scottish oatmeal (which is just more finely ground), and they are indeed quite dense, but still good. With a little butter on top if you are feeling non-health conscious, they are even better!

These bars were very bland and heavy, but I made them better by spreading natural peanut butter and honey on top whenever I wanted a quick snack. Also, they taste better after being in the fridge for a bit. I think I'd make them again since the ingredients are very handy, but I'll add some more spice and dried fruit next time.

This recipe was somewhat what I expected. I added trailmix to it, but it was still bland. It tastes best with yogurt and fruit or with apple butter or peanut butter on top.

WARNING: Norana's recipe is a great basis on which to personalize these bars. If you make the basic recipe, you are not going to get the granola bars you are used to in the store. The basic recipe tastes like "health" in bar form. However, if you have family that you know will not eat foods for health's sake alone, you will have to tweak this recipe. My version is similar to those listed but it was a big hit with my step-dad (who owns his own restaurant) so I thought I'd share: To the wet ingredients add: 2/3 cup applesauce To the dry ingredients add: 1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup dried fruit/nuts/trail mix, etc. I used one of the Archer Farms (at Target) trail mixes and it was great. I also put the mix in a regular 8 1/2 x 13 pan for 25 min (350 degrees). Let cool. One other note is that after several days out, these should go in the fridge. It might have been the applesauce that caused some mold to grow, but I learned my lesson the second time around. Thanks for the recipe. I've had a bar similar to this before and was never able to locate a recipe. Even better is that my step-dad with heart problems will eat it and its hard to get him to like healthier foods.

These were very bland and heavy. I will try with the applesauce next time, and mayge some salt, but my tast testers (kids, husband and myself) didn't enjoy them as is.

These are the best. Way better than the oat bars that are sold in the stores.