Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I am full of healthy recipes this month! Look at me go!!!!!!!

I have to tell you that I was super excited about this recipe....until I made it, but I haven't given up on it! It wasn't bad, just a little too sweet for my liking and the bars, instead of firming up nicely, but still being chewy, like the granola bars we all know and love from our local grocery stores, well, simply put, they were hard. Really hard. Yucky hard. So, my plan is to lessen the honey and brown sugar and increase the peanut butter. I'm hoping this will make it less sweet, more peanut buttery (which is what I was going for) and hopefully less hard. 

If any of you out there have a granola bar recipe you love, please share it with me!!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Granola Bars
adapted from Twin Tables

2 cups oats
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tblsp chia seeds
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Butter a 9x9-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread oats onto a sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until combined. 

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and immediately add it into the liquid mixture, add the chia seeds and chocolate chips (if you let the mixture cool slightly, your chocolate chips won't melt, I didn't do this, but I didn't mind the melted chocolate swirled through my granola bars :). 

Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish. Cool completely and cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.