Homemade Nutrigrain Bars

Well it is only the 9th and my kids have successfully eaten all of their snacks...which is a major fail on my part because we only grocery shop once a month. That means this mommy has to pull out all her pinned Pinterest finds and see what she can throw together. In my previous posts you will see graham crackers, which was a huge hit with the littles. I also made a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls, breakfast burritos, cereal bars, pita bread (recipe also up on blog), and tonight i added nutrigrain bars to the mix. These yummy little pre-packaged bars are a favorite amongst my littles. They are a go to after school snack for my school aged kids and of course Tanner always wants what they have. I have always known that they were not the healthiest snack but i just didn't think about making them from scratch before now. Tonight i attempted it and it didn't go exactly as planned but they still turned out moist, flavorful, and more healthy than the store bought ones.

Recipe:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup flour - i used bread flour
2/3 cup brown sugar - this easily could have been changed to honey or really left out but i decided to add apple sauce after i threw the flour in so what was done was done
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup apple sauce - i used my homemade sweetened with honey and lemon

1/3 cup mayo - i was out of eggs
10 ounces jam - i used my homemade blackberry

I mixed all the ingredients in a bowl then separated them into two balls. I noticed they were still a bit tacky so i did add an additional 1/2 cup flour. I flattened one ball into the bottom of a well greased pan, added my 10 ounces of jam then topped with the remaining ball of dough. Bake at 325 for 35-40 mins. When they cooled i cut them into small bars and wrapped in plastic wrap. We are still experiencing a bit warmer weather so 90% of my items are stored in the fridge, however i know these will be gone within a few days!

I made the mistake of not using a large enough pan so my bars came out more like a cake however they were kid tested and approved. 

I often substitute oil in recipes with apple sauce. I like the taste, it naturally sweetens, and i almost always have a homemade batch in the fridge or freezer. I will admit that lately i have been using mayo in place of eggs as well. I cant seem to keep eggs in the house long enough with the amount of breakfast burritos my husband and kids eat and i cant get my husband to agree to let me raise chickens next year, but we always have mayo.