Toddler Tuesdays: Microwave Chewy Chocolate Granola Bars

It's been a long time since our last Toddler Tuesday post. Landon has become a better eater as of late and has been eating more and more of what we eat so I've really been making less "special" food for him. The ultimate goal is to have him eat what we eat but clearly that doesn't always happen.

Lately Landon has been on a "bar" kick. He loved the Earth's Best or Trader Joe's apple granola bars (like Nutrigrain) and eats them almost daily. He has always wanted to try the Quaker Chewy granola bars but they have so many fake ingredients and really aren't something I'd want him to eat daily, so I decided to try a homemade version. This was Landon's first time cooking with me and it went over SO well. He loved it! He helped pour, stir, and pat the granola down. He even taste tested a few bites as we went along.

I have to say these bars came together in no time. Once they were done I happily tried one and they are awesome. They are much better than the Quaker ones and are so easy to make. I think it took 3-5 minutes to make. Can't beat it. The result is a soft, sweet bar with hints of chocolate. It was truly perfect. However, I have to be honest... Landon still hasn't tried them fully cooked. Once they came out of the freezer I asked Landon if he wanted a bar and he started crying when he realized I meant something other than his Earth's Best bar. Whomp whomp. We'll try again tomorrow. I know he'd love them because he ate the mix as we went along, so clearly he likes them. And if he doesn't.... John and I do! So more for us!

Source: Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
1 1/4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 Tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1- Place butter, brown sugar and honey in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl and heat mixture in microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute. 

2- Remove from heat and stir then return to microwave and heat on HIGH power 1 1/2 minutes. 

3- Carefully remove from microwave and blend in vanilla, then add in quick oats and stir until evenly coated. Fold in Rice Krispies and toss well to evenly coat, then push firmly into a buttered baking dish. Push until it's settled well onto the bottom of the dish.

4- Sprinke chocolate chips and press into bars. Transfer to freezer and chill 10 minutes, then remove and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.