Egg Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free Chewy Granola Bars

We haven't made granola bars for a little while so we sat down with our recipes trying to decide which one to make. The girls asked if we could try and make a new recipe. They decided they didn't want to use Sunbutter as a flavor base, they wanted a pure granola flavor. They also wanted them chewy and full of fruits and chocolate. We added some oat flour (ground up oats) to help with the texture and corn syrup to make them chewy. We all agreed on lots of dried cherries along with some coconut and chocolate chips (everyone has their different favorite dried fruits). I would have loved to add some of the sunflower seeds from Sunbutter, but we didn't have any in the house. The result was a thick, chewy, perfect granola bars. The only problem with the granola bars was that they didn't want to cut into pretty bars so we tore them into serving size pieces. They held together great, but they just didn't want to cut. These granola bars were so good and perfectly flavored.

Chewy Granola Bars


2 cups add-ins (dried fruit, safe chocolate chips, Rice Krispies, sunflower seeds, etc.)
1 2/3 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (blend oats until it becomes a fine powder then measure out 1/3 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup dairy free margarine, melted
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 tbsp water
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the add-ins, oats, sugar, oat flour and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the melted margarine, corn syrup, water and vanilla. Add the margarine mixture to the oat mixture then mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer the mixture to a parchment paper lined 8x8 baking dish. Press the mixture down firmly and evenly into the dish. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden on top and browned around the edges. Cool completely before tearing into serving size pieces. The granola bars are chewy and hold together well, but they don’t cut easily.
* Our favorite combination is 1 cup of dried cherries, 1/2 cup of flaked coconut and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips).


This recipe is linked to Allergy Friendly Friday, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love and Sweet Temptations.