Recipe: Honey Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars

So I loved the chocolate chip pretzel granola bars.  So much so, that they’re nearly gone.  My desk drawer is empty of all granola bars, and the freezer only has one left.  I’ve actually been eating them straight from the freezer, and they’re great cold.  No need to defrost if you don’t have time. 

So clearly, I needed to make them again.  But since I had some peanut butter chips and was out of chocolate chips (a tragedy that will be remedied quickly), I thought I’d stay closer to the peanut butter flavors of the Luna bar that inspired this recipe in the first place.

Honey Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bar

These bars have a more intense flavor than my chocolate chip pretzel granola bars.  I also doubled the amount of pretzels for some extra salt and crunch.  This recipe makes 16 small bars.  They also freeze very well, and make a great snack straight from the freezer.

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup coconut (flaked)
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup puffed rice cereal
• 1 cup crushed pretzels
• butter to grease the pan
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1. Spread the oats and coconut on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until the coconut is golden.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and then mix in the peanut butter and honey until smooth.
3. Mix the oats, coconut, puffed rice and pretzels into the banana mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased 8×12” baking pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
6. When the granola bars have cooled, press the peanut butter chips into the top of the bars.  Wait until they’re completely cool before you cut the bars.

I really like recipes that mix and match, like my customizable granola recipe.  You could swap in all sorts of things here.  Different cereals for the puffed rice, different nut butters for the peanut butter, different sweeteners for the honey, and different flavors of chips to top everything.  You could even leave out the chips all together and spread peanut butter or melted chocolate on top of these bars and cool them in the fridge before cutting.  Then you’d have a thin layer of peanut butter or chocolate on each bar, just like a Luna bar.