Granola Bites

  Tired of those run-of-the-mill granola bars from the store that have preservatives and chemicals and formaldehyde and insect parts and who-knows-what in them? Why not make your own?
  I sound like an infomercial.
  Really, though, these granola bites (or indeed, bars, if you wish) are ridiculously easy to make, and endlessly customizable. My favorite two things! You can put the mini-chocco chips in that this recipe calls for, or you can put nuts in there, or dried cranberries, or pretty much whatever you want. You can make them into bite size treats with a mini-muffin pan, as I did, or put the mixture into a pan and slice them into bars. Do whatever your little chef heart desires. The original recipe was posted over at Another Lunch, and is as follows:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C. quick oats
1/2 C. crisp rice cereal
1/2 C. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. canola oil
1/4 C. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
* optional: ground flax seed and/or wheat germ (I use 3 heaping Tbs. or so of each).

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except for the chocolate chips - keep those out for now) really, really, really well. I start with a wooden spoon and then usually end up using my hands too. Take your time to make sure everything is really blended. Taking your time also allows the wet ingredients to sort of soak into the dry components. If your mixture seems dry after mixing then you may need to add a little more oil and/or honey - a teaspoon at a time - until it starts to clump up a little. It may be hard to tell, but can you see how some of the granola mixture is starting to cling and ball up a little here?
  When your granola mixture gets to this point, not too wet, not too dry, then stir in the chocolate chips.   Holding the mini muffin cups, scoop the granola mixture in and form the mound compactly. I use a rounded tablespoon to help form them, a small cookie scoop would work too. You need to use both hands to press the granola and support the muffin cup at the same time. Line them up on a baking sheet to place in the oven.
  Press the remaining granola into your baking pan (if you are making bars). Make sure your baking pan has been sprayed well with non-stick spray! Press mixture firmly, compacting it as well as you can.

Baking:

350 degrees. Granola bites: 12-15 minutes. Granola bars: 17-22 minutes (keep an eye on them!). They are ready to remove from oven when the tops are golden. If they don't cook long enough they may not hold their shape. If they cook too long they will get too dry (not to mention they can burn) and may not hold their shape. (I've found granola bars to be finicky.) Let the granola bites cool completely. Just leave 'em alone for a few hours so they can set. Then, they are done! So easy.