Easy No-bake Homemade Chocolate Chip Granola Bars!

I found this recipe on Pinterest, tried it and they turned out great!  They took a while to set, so I put them in the freezer for a good while, pulled them out, let them thaw a bit and they stayed together better.  I need to wrap them individually in wax paper and bag them up, but I ran out of wax paper.  So for now, they sit on my counter. 🙂  But, they were easy to make, took like 15 minutes, and there’s maybe 6 ingredients.  So, have fun!!  (I also doubled the recipe for this portion, and they are packed down in a 9×13 pan).   Made 15 granola bars.

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup honey 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 2 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!} 1 cup crispy rice cereal 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions: In a large bowl, stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan {about 12x8x1} and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. {If your pan isn’t small enough, pack the mixture into one side. You really want to press them down so they stick together.} Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool on a countertop to room temperature for two hours or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Recipe Notes: If your granola bars don’t seem to be staying together when you cut them, you may have made them too thin or you didn’t pack them in tight enough. Stick them in the fridge for 20 minutes and that should help keep them together. {Be sure not to keep them in there too long or else they’ll become super hard!} The next time you make them, try reducing the butter to 3 tablespoons and really packing them down.