Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Bars

We love healthy tasty snacks.  There are so many unnecessary ingredients in store-bought bars, but when you make your own, you can put whatever you want in them, omitting the bad things!  These healthy peanut butter granola bars were a hit in our house, I hope you enjoy them as well!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup Lily’s chocolate chips (for the top!)
• 2 whole eggs
• Optional add ins: pinch of salt, walnuts, pecans, almonds, chia, sunflower or pumpkin seeds or dried fruit

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. (If your PB is solid at room temparature, heat it for 10-15 seconds to mkae it a more drizzly consistency before adding to the mix.
3. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish or pan with parchment paper.  This makes it much easier to remove the bars from your dish once baked.
4. Transfer mixture to the prepared dish or pan.  VERY FIRMLY press the mixture into the pan in an even layer – the firmer you press, the better the bars will stick together.  If you’re using chocolate chips, sprinkle them on top, then press them down into the bars.
5. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the center is baked through and the edges are just starting to brown.  Start checking at 14 minutes, as all ovens are different.
6. Remove from the oven and place pan on a cooling rack.
7. Let the bars cool COMPLETELY (this is important) before cutting into 16 squares with a sharp knife.