Energy Bars

My husband goes through Chewy Bars like they’re going out of style. And really, they’re not good for you. So when I saw this, I knew I had to make them for him. Now, generally, I’ll make a recipe just the way it is if he’s the only one eating it, but this recipe calls for coconut, and he is not a fan. So nix the coconut for me. Here’s what I used:

The peanut butter is crunchy, and instead of honey, I used Agave Nectar, which I found out you can use in place of honey with exact measurements. (I used the Agave nectar because I was curious about it, and also because I couldn’t find honey at the grocery store. it’s moments like that when moving across the country sucks!) As I went along, I added more things in, but I’ll get to those later on.

I mixed everything together as instructed in the recipe, and then realized that it wasn’t as cohesive as it should be because I’d used the crunchy peanut butter. So I pulled out the creamy and added a spoonful to make up for all the extra peanuts that got added. While I was in the cabinet, I noticed the dried fruit mix that was in there as well, so I grabbed it and added a handful to add something that would help keep him fed in the mornings. And then added more peanut butter to make sure everything was sticking together.

Now, instead of making them into balls, I decided on making bars, because he’s going to be taking these with him to work and it’s way easier to transport them that way for him, plus it’s the more familiar version, and he likes familiarity. So I spread them in a loaf pan lined with tin foil and let them set up overnight (because I didn’t want to finish them that day and I really didn’t need to. The next day I cut them easily into bars and wrapped them individually for him, so he could grab one and go. Here’s the finished product:

 You’ll notice I labeled them “granola bars” even though that’s not technically true, mostly because he calls everything in that form “granola bars.” They’ve been taste-tested and approved of by him, so this will probably end up being a weekly recipe, with tweaks along the way to make sure they don’t get boring.

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