Krispie Granola Bars

I love anything peanut butter and these homemade granola bars have lots! I also like easy recipes and this recipe definitely qualifies for that!  Thanks to Cathy for sharing the recipe with me.

Krispie Granola Bars

• 2 1/2 cups rice krispies
• 1 cup dried apricots, quartered
• 1 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1/ 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions: In a medium bowl, mix krispies, apricots, oatmeal and sunflower seeds.  Line a 9 x 12 pan with plastic wrap or wax paper.   In a large pot, melt sugar, honey and peanut butter until bubbly, stirring frequently to prevent burning.  Stir in dry mixtures and mix well.  Pour into pan and press down firmly.  Cool, cut into squares and refrigerate.

My notes:  I cut the apricots into smaller pieces because I thought they were too big as quarters.  I didn't use toasted sunflower seeds, because I forgot to toast them! (I was making this at 11 pm).  Also be very careful not to burn the sugar, I was about 10 seconds away from a burnt sugar mess. I don't think that you can cut back on the honey or peanut butter, because the bar might be too dry and not stick together very well.  I cut it into 32 pieces.

Next time I might substitute raisins or dried cranberries for the apricots and use natural peanut butter to cut down on the sugar.

These granola bars are definitely not low calorie or low fat, but they are healthier than the store bought ones with all the preservatives and other unpronounceable chemicals in them.  They will be good as a post stairclimb workout snack.

Enjoy!