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Making Homemade Strawberry Nutri Grain Bars today!
And also, I am home and could not be happier!
Not that I did not like Oregon this year, because I did. The weather was incredible the whole forty-two days my family and I were there. Well, I guess there were two days in the middle with tons and tons of low clouds, fog and pure misery. Technically, I guess forty day were gorgeous out of the forty-two.
Even though it is like me to complain, I can’t. I love the sun and blue skis and that is all I saw. Honestly, I barely saw any clouds. It was awesome.
Although, I was inside half the time cooking, but I would have been doing that anywhere, no matter what the weather was. I am always cooking.
Always.
With that said though, I am still so happy to be home.
With all my stuff, my giant kitchen windows and three refrigerators. Yeah, three. Again, it’s awesome.
What? Is three fridges a lot? My family has always had three for as long as I can remember. Big family means lots of food and stocking up on things when they are on sale. It just works, really well.
I almost always have backups for my back ups.
I know, I am so spoiled over here. But I love it.
Oh and um, hello?
The grocery store!!
I have one a mile down the street and another one ten minutes away. Plus, TARGET! It’s been way too long since I stepped foot in Target. I miss Target. It’s time.
Bring on the red!
Now that I got my excitement out, let’s talk about school.
Ugh.
My least favorite topic on this planet.
Alright, that’s a total exaggeration, but you all know school was not my thing. Which is why I raced through it and graduated early, went to the local college and did what I needed to do and said “See ya”!
I may done with school days, but my younger siblings are still chugging on through. Ahh, well sort of. Red and Kai? They barely go, but hey, there is always little Asher who LOVES school to death and could not be more excited to start going a full day kindergarten this year. How can this be, she is not even five yet?
I am pretty sad she is growing up so darn fast. I wish she could just be my little side kick forever. Soon she’ll probably be too cool for me. And trust me, she already has a lot of attitude. It’s scary.
Anyway, I was thinking these bars would be the perfect thing to pack in lunches or to have as after school snacks.
Growing up I used to love Nutri Grain bars in my lunch or as a snack, which is pretty weird since I am not really a baked fruit girl or a jam/jelly girl for that matter. But for some reason I loved those bars……until I realized they are pretty processed and full of sugar.
Not cool.
Enter the homemade strawberry Nutri Grain bar!
It took me three tries to get the recipe right, but the third one was spot on. Super soft and moist, just like the packaged ones. Except with real strawberries and oatmeal.
The fresh strawberry filling is incredible, not so sweet that is gives you a headache, but sweet enough to make you say, “Mmm”. The dough that you are going to wrap the filling up in is almost like a moist muffin. It is so soft, slightly chewy from the oatmeal, with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon.
I am telling you, it’s spot on.
My mom, Asher and I have concluded they may not look as good as the real ones, but they taste a million times better.
Oh and Asher wanted me to share with you how she will be packing these up in her Frosty the Snowman lunch box and taking them to school.
She is very excited.
Oh, and so is Frosty, it just snowed up on those mountain tops.
Homemade Strawberry Nutri Grain Bars
Servings: 10 bars
Calories Per Serving: 290 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Shop ingredients at your local Target store. Learn more
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, grated
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup strawberry jam, homemade or store-bought
- buttermilk, for brushing
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, and salt together. Add the butter and toss to coat. Add the egg yolks, yogurt, honey, and vanilla and mix until combined, adding 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time until the dough comes together and forms a ball. 2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out into a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into about 4" x 4 1/2" squares. Place a heaping tablespoon of jam down the center of each square, leaving about 1/4 inch border. Brush the borders with buttermilk. Fold one side up and over the filling and then pinch the dough together at either end. Do the same for the other side and use your fingers to seal the dough together at the seams. Carefully roll the bar over and place the seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough.3. Cover the bars and place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Once chilled, brush the tops of the bars lightly with buttermilk and transfer to the oven, bake on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top, do not over bake.4. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bars to a glass container with a lid, layering them between pieces of parchment paper. This will trap in heat and moisture, and slightly steam the bars, ensuring they remain soft. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the fridge for longer. These can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen, thaw for 1 hour.
Quick Strawberry Jam
Servings: 1 cup
Calories Per Serving: 565 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Shop ingredients at your local Target store. Learn more
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1/3 cup honey
- juice of 1 lemon
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. Add the strawberries, honey, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt to a medium size pot set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, once boiling use a potato masher or fork to break down and mash the blueberries. Continue to cook for 5-8 minutes or until the jam has reduced and thickened by half. Remove from the heat and let cool. Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on the whole rceipe
How is it already back to school time? Where did summer go?!?
I have tried a few recipes for fruit bars and I will search no further. I live in Eurasia and my daughter misses these as a nice on-the-go snack. I hand mixed. Needed a lot of extra flour for the roll out process. I didn’t have yogurt so I substituted sour cream and no butter milk so I used regular milk to seal the dough and the egg whites to brush the tops at the end of baking. These are wonderful. Thank you.
Hey Kari,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you!🧑🎄
Are these meant to be mixed by hand?
I made them very unsuccessfully, but I did use a stand mixer. The dough was super sticky. I will try again mixing by hand. But I also saved the sticky dough because it felt so wasteful. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot that, if possible? I added some more oats, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. It is very very sticky.
Thank you!
Amy
Hi Amy,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! I did not mix these by hand, so I don’t think that was the issue. I would try adding some more flour to the dough and see if that helps. It’s been almost 10 years since I posted this recipe, so it’s been quite a minute since I’ve made them. Let me know if this helps! xT
These taste delicious, but even as an experienced baker, I had trouble with the folding and sealing process. For my first batch, the jam completely leaked out. The second batch was much better, but I think the dough is quite fiddly. If you understand that the soft dough will be harder to work with and are able to take your time, I think this is an A+ recipe to have on hand for little ones. My toddler loved them. However if you go into baking these thinking it’ll take you the amount of time the recipe states (15 minutes), you’re going to be frustrated and upset. The process from start to finish for me took almost an entire hour, and again, I’m an experienced baker. Overall, I really like the recipe and think the more you make them the easier it will be to get it right and handle the dough well.
Hi Krystal,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks bunch for giving it a go! Thanks for sharing your feedback about the recipe. xxTieghan
Just made these today and they are delish!!! I followed the recipe exactly (minus cinnamon and I used egg wash instead is buttermilk) and they turned out pretty darn good. It was easier than I thought it would be. I probably should have rolled the dough a little thinner though because it only made 6 bars and I wish there were a few more. So yummy!
Hey Kelly,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend! xxT
So happy to have found this. My toddler is obsessed with nutrigrain bars, which I originally bought as an occasional treat. Now she toddles over to her little cabinet and brings me tiny fistfuls of ‘ba’s daily and has at least one a day or I’m in trouble. I looked at the sugar content tonight and oh man… Pretty dang high for a 15 month old ?
I am really glad you enjoyed this one, Briana! xTieghan
Do you and can you blend the oats first to break it down for a more smoother texture?
Hi Stef! It is not necessary, but you can! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
Putting honey in your bars instead of sugar does not make them healthier. ?
Hi Jeyne! Thank you, and to each their own opinion! I think natural forms of sugar, especially local honey is really good for you! xTieghan
Can I substitute soy yogurt and dairy free butter with the same quantities?
These were a huge hit with our toddlers! I made a strawberry/sweet potato filling and cut the honey by half. I even loved them! The crust is a much better taste than actual nutrigrain bars.
I agree! Thank you so much Missy, I am so glad you love these! xTieghan
Making this for my 18 month old son !! he loves the store bought cereal bars but it has too much sugar so i will be making this instead much more healthy and at least i know exactly what’s in it .. Just recently found out about your blog and really love love love all the recipes !! Im already printing all the recipes that i will make for my son and will be ordering your cookbook also !! Thank You so much Tieghan !!
Thank you for trying this Lhen!! I hope you love the book! xTieghan
These were a complete disaster. I am an avid baker and nothing I did saved these. They cracked and leaked. Im hoping they still taste good because my kids are looking forward to these. My husband (also an avid baker) tried to help me and he was completely dumbfounded.
Hi Kay, I am sorry for the trouble. Can you give me more detail on how you made these so I can help problem solve as to what the issue was. Hope I can help and again, sorry for any trouble you are having.
I just tried this recipe out and it is so good! My kids love them and I can’t stop picking at them ??
Thank you so much Allison!
I would love to try these but am a bit scared to try after reading reviews about how it was hard to combine the dough and that it gave a rough texture instead of the smooth pics of yours. I like to make goodies that look appetizing too. So wanna know if you have tried again and saw any changes to be done by any chance?
Hi Chamila! Yes, this recipe has been adjusted and is a little easier to work with. Please let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the bars! 🙂
My grandma and I make homemade jelly, would I be able to use that if I don’t have fresh fruit on hand to make the filling then?
This recipe sucks I spent 2 hours reading this its to hard sorry ur life story sucks af
Wow, this is really mean. Sorry it didn’t work out for you.
Hi There,
First time commenter! I’m super psyched to try making these for my daughter, and I will try to make a bunch in advance and then freeze them. I saw you suggested thawing them the night before, in the fridge, so I’ll try that and let you know what happens. Your recipes are EXCELLENT, and I’m not surprised you had a great recipe for cereal bars!
P.S. I do not know who that “Melisa” is, who commented at 5:00 am on May 1st, but WOW. Some people have too much time on their hands, and no original content to put out into the world. Your recipes and life story have a lot of meaning to us everyday cooks out here. While I’m sure you’re aware of that, I thought it warranted repeating.
Fight the good fight, and don’t let the haters get you down <3
Hi! I am so happy you like my recipes and posts and I hope this one turns out awesome for you and your daughter! Definitely let me know how they turn out! Thank you, this comment was really sweet!
These are so good! I used butter and sour cream in place of coconut oil and Greek yogurt, since that’s what I had . My dough came out the same consistency as cookie dough, so instead of rolling it out, I used my hands to make flattened rounds, topped with filling, and sandwiched another round over top. I skipped the freezer, pricked the tops and baked – dough didn’t crack or split at all. Since they looked like cookies when they were done, my toddler was extra excited to eat them, and he and I could indulge without any guilt. So much better than store bought bars! Thanks for a great recipe!
Im sure the butter/sour cream was delicious… maybe even better!
Sounds like they came out great! Thanks for making them!