How to Make Protein Bars With Nuts Grains & Chocolate

Place the oats on a baking sheet with shallow sides; spread oats thinly and toast in a 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes. Watch the time so the oats do not burn. Remove the oats and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. While oats are toasting, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and peanut butter, then add the melted butter and honey and mix everything well. A mixer, spoon, or hands in the batter work fine.

Add fruits and nuts by mixing into the batter with hands to distribute evenly. It is best doing this one ingredient at a time. Add the oats, and mix the entire batter thoroughly and evenly. This step is best accomplished with clean, greased (butter or oil) hands.

Grease or butter a baking sheet with shallow sides--use the one in which the oats were toasted. Spoon the batter onto the baking sheet, and with a greased rolling pin, spread the batter evenly over the entire baking sheet. Then use the rolling pin to even the depth of the bars. This will be dictated by the size of the chunks used for chocolate, fruit and nuts. The bars should be a minimum of 1/4-inch deep and not more than 1/2-inch deep.

Put the baking sheet in the center of the oven, or if baking more than one batch at a time, put the racks at the 1/3 and 2/3 oven positions and rotate the racks halfway through the baking cycle. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 15 minutes until a light golden brown. Baking times vary by the type and amount of add-ins.

Remove the baking sheets and, using a pizza-style cutter, cut into bars while still hot. It is easier to cut at this stage, as the bars will harden as they cool. Leave in the baking sheet until cool. Remove from baking sheet and place into an airtight container. Bars can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap. Yield depends on the size of the bar cut. The protein bars will store from 8 to 10 weeks.