Peanut Butter Granola Bars

I'm not by any means a blogger, but it would be nice to have a place to record my recipes, runs, and highlights of those things in between. I am currently training for a half marathon 8 weeks away..(yikes!) and enjoying the stress relief of baking to catch up on my calorie intake! My latest venture was:

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

I borrowed the initial recipe from Giada De Laurentiis (aka Food Network). Here is the recipe with my adjustments:

Ingredients

Vegetable cooking spray

1 egg

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup slivered almonds, 

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup craisins (or raisins) 

Directions

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 7 by 10 3/4-inch nonstick baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Lay a 6 by 18-inch piece of parchment paper in the pan, allowing the excess paper to hang over the sides. Spray the parchment paper lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, using a hand beater, beat the egg until frothy. Stir in the peanut butter, brown sugar, and honey. Add the melted butter, oats and almonds. Stir to combine, then add the chocolate chips.

Using a rubber spatula, spread mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing lightly to form an even layer. 

Bake until the edge of the mixture begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 1 hour. Cut into squares, and store in the refrigerator.

It makes about 15-20 bars depending on your size. Here's my finished product: 

I thought they were super yummy and chewy! Dusty agreed! 

Now it's homework time, but here's a sneak peak at my current crafting project, a state of Louisiana string art:

It will be finished in about 2 months... Happy weekend!!