Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bites

We are a granola bar eating family around here.  I have been making these granola bars for a little over a year now, but recently I bought a box of the Quaker chewy granola bars because we were in the process of moving, and making my own was out of the question.  I was so surprised when I took a bite of one.  I didn't like it.  In fact, I stopped eating it!  Mine are so much better! 

So, when I came across these chocolate chip granola bites on Pinterest, I just had to try them.  I chose to replace the oil, however, with peanut butter.  This recipe is very similar to the granola bars I already make, but I liked the idea of putting them in cupcake liners in a muffin tin.  I don't have a mini muffin tin, but the regular muffin tin produced perfectly sized single servings. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bites
adapted from another lunch

2 1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. crisp rice cereal
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
* optional: ground flax seed and/or wheat germ (3 heaping Tbs. of each)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the oats, rice cereal,  and salt (and ground flax and wheat germ if using) in a bowl.  In a large glass measuring cup, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, and honey.  Heat in microwave for 1 minute.  Then stir to combine and add the vanilla.  Add the honey mixture to the oat mixture and combine really really well.  It may take some work, but the mixture should stick together.  Then add the chocolate chips and continue to stir.  

Using a cookie scoop, fill paper lined muffin cups about half full, and then press the mixture really well into each cup (they will end up about 1/3 full).  The more packed you can make them, the better they will stay together.  I was able to fill 18 muffin cups (regular sized).  Then bake them for about 10 minutes (I'm not sure how necessary this step is, but it didn't hurt).  Allow the granola bites to cool COMPLETELY before messing with them.  Otherwise, they may fall apart on you.
 

 
These were easy to store in the freezer, and when packing lunches, I simply placed the granola bar bite, paper liner and all, into a sectioned  lunch container with a lid.  I imagine you could make these without the paper liner to eliminate packaging material, altogether--so earth friendly!