Half cookie bar, half granola bar, 100% delicious! These bars start with your favorite ready-made granola mix. Choose oat-based granolas that have additions like peanuts, almonds, flaxseeds, quinoa, craisins, raisins, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Avoid granola mixes that contain freeze-dried fruits such as strawberries and apples – the baked texture is tough and strange, and they tend to burn.Use loose cereal-type granola or clusters. If you use clusters, break them up by hand or pound the bag with a rolling pin to break them up before measuring.Remember that ready-made granola has been baked once already. Tent the pan with aluminum foil halfway through baking to prevent the top from overbrowning.
1 1/2cupsgraham cracker crumbsabout 12 sheets crushed fine
1/2cupunsalted buttermelted
14oz.sweetened condensed milk1 can
3cupsoat granolaany variety with nuts, raisins, chips, etc.
1/2cupsweetened flake coconutoptional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil so that it overhangs two long edges of the pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Stir until well combined, or until the mixture has the appearance of wet sand. Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan; spread evenly and tamp it down with the bottom of a flat measuring cup, or the palms of your hands.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the crust. Scrape out the can with a rubber spatula to get every last bit out of the can.
Sprinkle the oat granola over the sweetened condensed milk in an even layer. Use a rubber spatula to press the granola down into the milk layer.
Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the granola.
Bake for 25 minutes, tenting the pan with foil halfway through bake time to prevent overbrowning.
Cool completely in the pan. You can serve the bars directly from the pan, or after the bars have cooled completely, lift up by the edges of the foil to remove from the pan. Then, cut into 24 pieces.
Store the bars in an airtight container.
Notes
What to expect: These are the oat version of magic cookie bars. They have soft chewy texture with extra chewy caramelized edges. Optional? You decide: Sweetened flake coconut can be an optional ingredient, but it gives the bars a nice texture reminiscent of the original magic cookie bars.Endlessly variable: honey-oat, cranberry-almond, peanut butter-flaxseed, dark chocolate-pecan.. There are hundreds of oat granola mixes out there to try, so have fun experimenting with different flavors!