Granola Brownie Bars

star rating (4) rate this recipe »
whole grain
Recipe photo
Hands-on time:
Baking time:
Total time:
Yield: twenty five 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" bars
Recipe photo

This recipe was originally named "AFS Bars", which didn't quite communicate how yummy they truly are. It's an improvisation from the Sands family, created for a fundraising event to raise money for … More »

Granola Brownie Bars

star rating (4) rate this recipe »
whole grain
Hands-on time:
Baking time:
Total time:
Yield: twenty five 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" bars
Published: 01/01/2010

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour, white or traditional
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups of mixins, any combination: granola, sunflower seeds, nuts, dried fruit, and/or chips

Tips from our bakers

  • You can adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe, reducing it as low as 1 1/2 cups, if you choose.
  • Mixins can be any selection or combination of the following: granola, chocolate, cinnamon, butterscotch or white chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, coconut, wheat germ, dried fruit, and nuts.
  • The original version of this recipe made a 9 x 9-inch pan of bars. If you'd still like to make that size, change the amounts as follows: 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups of mixins. The bars should bake in 30 minutes.
  • Bars are easier to cut out of the pan than in, so consider lining the baking pan with foil or parchment, so you can lift the baked, cooled bars right out of the pan onto a cutting board.
  • For a super glossy top to your bars, melt the butter before adding the sugar. If you make the bars this way, you won't even need a mixer: everything can be mixed by hand. We recommend a Danish Dough whisk, to keep the granola flakes from getting too broken up.
  • These bars have 9 grams of whole grains per serving, when made with 1 1/2 cups of granola in the mixins.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. Line with foil or parchment, and grease again, if desired (see baker's tips).

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar; beat in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Beat in the vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into the butter mixture until evenly combined.

4. Stir in the granola and any other combination of mix-ins you like. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth out the top.

5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and the edges just begin to pull away from the side of the pan. The center should be set, not wobbly. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

6. Once the bars are cooled to lukewarm, you can use the parchment or foil to lift them out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the bars 5 across and five down, to make twenty-five 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" bars.

Nutrition information

Serving Size: 1 bar Servings Per Batch: 25 Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207 Calories from Fat: 82 Total Fat: 9g Saturated Fat: 5g Trans Fat: 0g. Cholesterol: 40mg Sodium: 170mg Total Carbohydrate: 31g Dietary Fiber: 2g Sugars: 21g Protein: 3g.

* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.

Reviews

1
  • star rating 03/16/2012
  • charlottelynn321 from KAF Community
  • These are a great healthy snack, a very helpful recipe in my quest for snacks we can eat since we gave up sugar and white flour and packaged foods! Meals were an easy transition, but snacks are harder to find for going out of the house. These are a perfect option, and my little kids LOVE them! We used one cup honey in place of the sugar. They came out pretty crumbly and dry, so there's a lot of mess after the kids eat them -- I wonder if the honey makes a drier texture than sugar would? I might use palm sugar next time.
  • star rating 06/13/2009
  • Martha from Queens
  • Definitely flexible! I tinkered with the recipe, and it came out great. Used 1/2 cup veg oil and no butter, used a cup of honey instead of sugar, 4 tbsp milled flax + 6 TBSP water + 1/4 tsp baking powder, beaten up, as a sub for eggs (so I made it vegan, essentially). I used a cup of oats, half a cup of dried cherries, half a cup of sliced almonds, some sunflower seeds... yummm!
  • star rating 04/18/2009
  • Laura from Vermont
  • This recipe is great because it is so flexible. I used rolled oats, walnuts, cranberries, and chocolate chips as the granola and they came out perfect. These make good early morning breakfast bars, like when we are heading out to do morning milking and need something fast.
  • star rating 03/12/2009
  • SUSAN from VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.
  • VERY GOOD RECIPE, SIMPLE AND NUTRITIONAL. I MADE THESE FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN AND THEY LOVED THEM. ADD A FEW CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND THEY HAVE NO CLUE THEY ARE HEALTHY. ONLY PROBLEM I ENCOUNTERED WAS IT FELL A LITTLE IN THE MIDDLE. I USED A 7x11 PAN AND SPRAYED A LITTLE TOO MUCH BAKING SPRAY IN BOTTOM. ALSO WOULD SUGGEST BEATING EGGS A LITTLE FIRST BEFORE ADDING. MAYBE I BEAT THE LIQUID INGREDIENTS A TAD TOO MUCH IN ORDER TO INCORPORATE THE EGGS. WILL BE MAKING THESE VERY OFTEN. THANKS SO MUCH KAF!
1

Related recipes:

Community & education:

Online baking resources:

Ingredient guides: