School Safe Granola Bars

Mom! Mom! There's only one granola bar left in the box! You need to buy some more!

Now I don't. I found a recipe online that made a nice, chewy granola bar.

They were simple to make and taste every bit as good as those store bought ones. Here's how:

School Safe Granola Bars

Yield 12 granola bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
• 2 tablespoons butter (does not need to be softened)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (you can use milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• 1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl add the butter and the brown sugar and mash together with a fork to mix (mixture will be very lumpy and crumbly). Add in the beaten egg, honey, vanilla and apple sauce and mix well. Set aside.
3. In a separate mixing bowl add all of the remaining ingredients (flour, oats, flax seeds, cinnamon, salt and chocolate chips) and mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix very well. Dump the mixture into the lined baking pan and press down firmly.
4. Bake for 18 minutes and allow to cool completely. Cut into bars and store for several days in an airtight container. You can also individually wrap the granola bars in plastic wrap where they will keep up to five days.