Easter Granola Bar Nests

These fun Easter nests are perfect for a snack. In our preschool, everything has to be healthy which I love, but it means no cute iced cookies for the Easter party. :(  I had to come up with something else. Hummmm, what to make? Ah-ha, we love granola bars! This recipe tastes like a Quaker oatmeal breakfast bar, so perfect for those who like a chewy taste. If you like a sweeter granola bar, pick this one. I usually bake a 9x13 pan or sometimes in muffin cups. Then I put plastic wrap on each one, throw them into a rubbermaid container and into the freezer. Whenever we need a to go snack or a lunch box filler, pop one in, already wrapped!

For the Easter celebration, I decied to make the granola "rounds" and make them into nests. If you want to make nests, you just depress the middle to create a dent before the "round" cools off. Since I couldn't fill it with jelly beans or my personal favorite Easter candy, Cadbury Mini Eggs, I filled them with yogurt covered raisins (strawberry and vanilla flavored). When we talked about eggs and where they come from we also got to talk about how close to perfect egg are and compared them to the how perfect Jesus is! We talked about new birth and Jesus' resurrection. It was a great snack for our Easter celebration.

Chewy Granola Bars

2c oats
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c wheat germ (in the cereal isle in a jar)
1/2 raisins, optional
2 eggs
1/3 c melted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oatmeal, sugar, wheat germ and raisins in a large bowl. Combine eggs, butter and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.  Press into a greased muffin pan or for bars, press into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. For nest, press the center down while still warm. For bars, cool 10 minutes and then cut while still warm. Store in airtight container.

When I served the nests to the preschoolers we added another cute idea: "sunny side up eggs".  This was something I saw as an April Fool's joke, but it works for Easter too. It's vanilla yogurt pooled on a plate with a dried apricot in the center...it tricked the kids and they got a giggle! I had to do something funny since we celebrated on April Fools Day!!