Easy Granola Bars

 

These are EASY, inexpensive, pretty healthy (no corn syrup/hydrogenated oil...just plain old sugar and milk), can be adapted to anyone's preference, and are rather addictive. What more could you want in a snack recipe? I used a general ratio of dry stuff to liquid; it worked pretty well (oats, nuts, craisins, raisins, and, of course, dark chocolate!!). The coconut isn't very noticeable in the final product, but it does add a nice layer of subtle, tropical sweetness. You can bake them in a 13x9-inch pan for thicker bars or (my preference) a jelly roll pan (rimmed cookie sheet) for thinner bars; if using the jelly roll pan, start checking after 15 minutes for doneness--pale brown on top.

From Allrecipes.com; see the original plus reviews here.

INGREDIENTS

* 3 cups quick-cooking oats
* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1 cup flaked coconut
* 1 cup sliced almonds
* 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sweetened condensed milk, butter, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips and cranberries with your hands until well blended. Press flat into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

Makes 24 bars; more if you bake in a jelly roll pan (but they'll be thinner).