Not too long ago, Kraft came out with these wonderful refrigerated granola bars called Milk Bite. Of course, I fell in love with them. Of course, they were discontinued. I’ve longed for them for all this time and finally decided to come up with my own version – this is it!
These bars are no bake, stored in the refrigerator, filling, and tender. What’s more, they’re actually healthy. Well, for now. I mean, give it a week or so and someone is going to decide oats are unhealthy, it’s only a matter of time :). The ingredients are as simple as they can be and the bulk of the “cooking” process involves stirring and patting into a pan. They make an excellent breakfast or a quick energy snack in between meals and since they aren’t “too sweet” they are perfect for school mornings when you want your kid to be well fed but not bouncing off the walls :).
In short, I love them and I made a huge batch at a fraction of what I used to pay for the store bought version. The options with this are limitless, really. If you have any peanut butter allergies, use sun butter. Add in dried fruit, nuts, coconut, whatever you like to personalize them. You can follow my recipe to the letter or use it as a springboard for something entirely different.
This was supposed to be the post where I continued my family series and told you a story about a member of my family. I shared about Katy earlier in the week on my Brunswick Chicken Bake post and today was Brady’s post. Well y’all, Brady’s story is a bit more complicated with more twists and turns so I’m not done writing it yet. I hope to share it in my next post but I just couldn’t wait another day to share this recipe with you! Let’s get to it so I can get me another bite of one of these bars!
You’ll need: Oats, Evaporated Milk (can use regular), Peanut Butter, Honey, and Vanilla. My Vanilla was not in the mood for photographs today and we mustn’t pressure our ingredients when they wake up on the wrong side of the pantry.
On my finished product, I melted some white chocolate chips and drizzled that over in addition to sprinkling a little bit of coarse sea salt on top of the chocolate before it set. It was a wonderful touch.
Place all of your ingredients (except oats) in a large bowl and microwave for a minute or two until the peanut butter is good and melty and can be easily stirred together with all the other ingredients. You can do this in a pot on top of the stove if that makes things more right in your world.
Stir that together until smooth. Add oats. Stir until very well coated.
Press into an 8×8 pan. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
If you want to make a pretty topping like I did, melt chocolate chips (flavor of your choice) in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then spoon into a zipper seal bag. Snip a corner off and squeeze in a zig zag (or zag zig, depending on your level of rebelliousness) pattern on top of the bars. Sprinkle lightly with coarse sea or kosher salt.
Cut into bars and store in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freeze for up to three months (or until you remember they are there and decide to eat them).
I LOVE HAVING THESE IN MY FRIDGE and you will, too!
- 6 cups quick oats
- 12 ounce can milk (or 1½ cups whole milk)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Place all ingredients except for oats in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat for about a minute or two, just until peanut butter is a little melty. Stir with a large spoon until mixture is creamy and well blended.
- Stir in oats until fully incorporated.
- Press mixture into an 8x8 pan. Cover and refrigerate until chilled before serving.
These bars keep very well in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for several months.
“Live your happiest life by knowing that often Plan B is even better than Plan A. Ditto on Plan C.”
~Unknown 🙂
Yum 
What do you think: could I use fat-free evaporated milk? Sounds yummy!
You sure could!! I’m eating one right now, lol.
Girl- I LOVE you!!! These are better than any of the store bought ones I’ve had. No choc drizzle for me tho- I sprinkled mine with Flaked coconut(just a couple tablespoonsful tho) If I had kids they would think I had lost my mind letting them eat these- they are THAT good!!!!!! yet so HEALTHY!!!!
I LOVE your recipes, but everytime I make something, I have to go thru and use a calorie calculator and then divide into caloric servings.
(I know being from the South, it’s the taste that counts, but I have some serious health issues and am on a strict caloric intake- so I can have pretty much anything I want as long as it’s not riddiculously sugary/fatty as long as I stay within my caloric budget…and so Sundays are usually a Southern Plate Sunday Dinner Recipe Day. Pure BLISS!!!!!!
Would it work if I used old fashioned oats instead of the quick oats?
Yes. In fact, a friend just now texted me a photo where she did just that!
Thanks. Did she put the oats in a food processor first?
Nope. Just straight substituted. They looked great!
Those look yummy! Great for back to school breakfast!
I emailed this recipe to my husband at home and he just finished making them. He said they are very good and hopes there are some left for me when I get home LOL
These look yummy! Might add some ground flax seed to make them even healthier! Thanks for the great recipe.
I seldom have honey on hand-do you think I could sub corn syrup aka known as Karo? If yes do you think clear or dark? I know some readers will freak out over corn syrup but I am 68 and have used it all my life. My mother had five children and our formula was nothing more than evaporated milk and a bit of Karo.
I’m with ya Elaine! When my son was little, the doctor had us put a little bit of dark karo in his bottle a few times a day and my mother was raised on that same formula you mentioned! We even have a handwritten recipe for it :). Karo would work just fine and I’d go with whichever you like, dark or light will work equally as well. I prefer dark for the richer flavor but you may prefer the mildness of clear, it is probably closer to honey in flavor.
Hi Christy,
I do not know whether to thank you for this recipe or the hundreds of other magnificent recipes before this one!
Oats, honey, milk and peanut butter, how much better does it get?
You are such a beautiful Lady. A Bear Hug all the way from Arizona !
– God Bless You and Your Family, – Dave
Well now if this comment didn’t just make my day nothing will!!! Thank you so much, Dave!!! Bear hugging you back so tight your back pops!
Gratefully,
C J
Thanks Christy for your kind words, I am glad to have “made your day”.
I am Southern by heritage (East Tennessee and North Alabama) and I guess when I was growing up here in Arizona, I never knew we were eatin’ Southern all the time. My mom just called it “home cooking”. Oh Yeah!! I am old enough to remember that we had an aluminum canister (said Bacon vertically embossed on the side) for use in just about anything from fried potatoes, eggs, some veggies, etc. YUM!!
I looked at virtually all of your magnificent recipes (back to 2008?) on your web site and have tried a bunch of them. Your recipes are fabulous, thank you Dear Lady for your love of cooking and sharing recipes !!! You are definitely a Genius Master Chef !!!
– God Bless and another Bear Hug from Arizona
Blessings and Bear Hugs back at ya Dave!!! You just can’t beat that good ol “home cooking” can you!?
These look so good, I like the idea of a topping, this way I can get my chocolate fix in by way of a drizzle on the bars.
And you know that little bit of drizzle really does make a big difference, too!
…”we mustn’t pressure our ingredients when they wake up on the wrong side of the pantry!”….I just cracked up reading that statement. Nothing like vanilla extract with an attitude! You are just too funny; no wonder I love reading your posts! I am very blessed to be vacationing in the beautiful seashore town of Cape May New Jersey this week, and I am so glad I have access to your posts while I am on the beach. I have been checking my email everyday,( since I am one of the few people left in the world who has not gotten with the times and opened a Facebook account!). Between the hot sun, refreshing ocean water, beautiful scenery and your commentary on your uncooperative groceries, it just can’t get any better, lol! It reminds me of when my girls used to watch Veggie Tales and the narrator would break in with a comment about “when produce goes bad” or something to that effect. Anyway, you brightened my day with that quip, and I am looking forward to trying the peanut butter granola bars very soon. And, Christy, I think I recall reading a post in which you mentioned something about wanting to try to visit all the different states in this great country of ours. Well, if you ever come to New Jersey, you must visit Cape May on the southern-most tip of the state. It is the country’s oldest seaside resort, and the Victorian homes are breathtaking, not to mention the ocean! You just gotta promise to mention it in one of your posts so my family and I can drive down to meet ya!
Hey Sharon!! Thank you for sitting through my writing! lol I enjoy the days where I can just sit and write in a more whimsical way and I’m trying to make it a point to do that more these days. I’m glad you noticed :). We really do want to visit all of the states and didn’t get to do that this summer so maybe Cape May can happen sooner rather than later (one of these years at least). You sure make it sound like the place I’d like to be! I will sure mention it if we get to! And listen, a little bit of wisdom from me on Facebook, you ain’t missing nothing :). I think the less technology and social media we have in our lives the happier we are. I realize this is highly ironic coming from me since a great part of my career depends on social media, but we all gotta retire sometime and my time is coming! When it gets here, I’m getting me a cabin up on a mountain with no internet and I won’t look back. Cell phones are gonna go, too 🙂 Folks will have to lick a stamp to get in touch with me. When will this happen? As soon as God allows it!
LOL- I burst out laughing at That panrty statement too…When you say stuff like that, it makes me think of my Grannies Miller & Coyle….theywas always saying funny stuff like you do when they was in the kitchen- like it was a magical fantasy land and you were the queens making your magic there together……and it brings back the fondest memories of both of them. xoxo
🙂
~drooling, typing and waving~ Hi Christy! These bars look sooooo good I may have to put on a bib to keep from getting my keyboard sopping wet! 😀 I’m in luck with having all the ingredients and can make them within a couple of hours. Do you think crunchy peanut butter would work well or would it mess up the texture? DH & I love crunchy peanut butter, but if it’s going to detract from something I don’t won’t to use it.
Hugs & blessings,
Linda
Oh, I LOVE Crunchy peanut butter, too!!!! My family just wants creamy but every now and then I buy crunchy as a treat for myself. It would work wonderfully in this and add a little extra oomph to it as well. If it were me, I’d add about 1/4 more to make up for the peanuts taking away some of the melty part that you want to hold all of this together. Oooh now I want to make them that way, too!!
Out of Peanut butter at the moment and as it is 10.30pm here (Ireland) shall have to wait until tomorrow P.G., and head for the shops. Looks like another fantastic recipe from you. Shall enjoy making, and mostly eating, them. Thank you for recipe deirdre
Deirdre, you have just got the sweetest personality and kindest heart. I bet folks fight over who gets to be your neighbor!
And to top it off, now you have me imagining how beautiful Ireland is 🙂 Thank you!
Love it, Christy…pinned! And thank you!
Thank YOU Debbie!!! I sure do appreciate your help!
Christy: I totally agree with you on oatmeal being healthy this week. However, it and my intestines are not BFF’s so I would have to use either barley flakes, or a mix of half barley flakes and ground up graham crackers, since 6 cups of barley flakes is all of one bag, maybe more, and pricey. I will figure some combination out.
I also have to use the sun butter since I can’t have peanut butter. I already make a recipe for no bake cookies that has sun butter, graham crackers, raisins and honey. I have tried them with coconut, with butterscotch chips, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, and I like them plain the best. They are “don’t bother me I’m eating” good and only have two problems: it only makes 8 rather dinky cookies, and once you take the blade out of the processor bowl, so it’s safe, you just want to grab the bowl and run with it and not share. Who needs a spoon? 8D
Your recipe sounds equally good, and I like the white chocolate glaze. I can’t have chocolate so I often use white chocolate, and might even try it with the sea salt to cut the sweetness of it. It might also work with butterscotch chips. Thanks very much for this recipe. I’m looking forward to the story you are writing about Brady. I noticed you called him Bradybug. I used to call my Papillon, Lexie, Lexiebug, so that made me think of her.
Your combinations sound wonderful! My friend, Hodgepodge mom uses a lot of sun butter as all of her kids are allergic to peanut butter and it is just so wonderful to have a product that can so easily be substituted! I really like that little bit of salt, too, and I love white chocolate. It’s actually my favorite 🙂 Yup, he’s my Bradybug! Although, the taller he gets the less I tend to call him that, lol. Thank you for being here!!! And hey, if on one is around, t’ain’t no one to report that you ate those cookies out of the bowl so it never happened!
Nope, I’m not thinking of making these with Nutella. Nope, not at ALL.
~gulp~ I love Nutella. Now you got me thinking about making them with Biscoff spread!
They are great with Biscoff as that was all I had. They tasted like cookies! I normally buy the Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter but was out so Biscoff to the rescue!
oh my word, I bet they were fabulous with Biscoff!! Let me know how they turned out Marsha!!!
They tasted like an oatmeal cookie.
What is Biscoff? 🙂
Christy, (and Marsha G.): Now that’s an idea! I hadn’t thought of it at all. Thanks! I’m going to annotate my recipe so I don’t forget. I just polished off my jar of Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter, so that means I’ll have to do both the sun butter and cookie butter after I replenish my Cookie Butter. Maybe 1/2 batch of each and see which Quality Control likes the best?
Might need to do 2 full batches as I have been dealing with Customer Service at both Amazon and Apple’s iTunes Store these past couple days-always a joy and an absolute last resort, and you are an oasis of sensibility and calmness in a sea of irrelevant and annoying “answers” from Customer Service!
I have been ignoring my Kindle edition of Facebook for Old People. Family wants me to join it and, like you, I am not all that thrilled with social media. What’s wrong with good old-fashioned e-mail? 8) I suppose I’ll have to read the thing soon, before it becomes totally out-dated, especially since it wasn’t cheap.
They’d never make it to the fridge if I made them with Nutella….and no one else would get any either.
However- that sounds like a plan for my next Pity Party.
🙂 Sounds like a perfect plan to me Vada!!
I am making these right now! I added some mixed nuts and coconut. A hint to make getting the melted chocolate into the bag more easily is to put the bag into a mug and fold the bag over the edge of the mug – holds the bag open and steady for the melted chocolate.
Thanks for the hint on how to get the melted chocolate into the bag more easily!
GREAT tip Susan!!!
Where have you been all my life? I have been searching for a refrigerator granola bar for so long that I had almost given up on finding one that looks like it might just work. I cannot wait to make ’em. Can you tell me what “Biscoff” is, and how would you incorporate Nutella in them, as the glaze perhaps? I hope mine turn out as good as yours looks. 🙂
Hey LaWanda!! Biscoff are those delicious cookies served on airplanes, and then they took those are turned them into cookie butter, which is the texture of peanut butter, but made out of cookies!! To use Nutella, just replace the peanut butter with the Nutella, let me know how they turn out!!
Is it the Zoet Speculoos Cookie Butter? Oh, man, am I in trouble now! 🙂 Oh, and I will definitely let you know how they turned out! Thanks again.
I’m wondering if a can of coconut milk (or cream of coconut) would work. Or almond milk?
Either would work great. Just go with your favorite 🙂
Christy: I made these today and added in a bag of sun maid fruit bits. These will make a perfect breakfast change for me along with a yogurt. I never had the Kraft Milk Bites but this recipe sure is Tasty!!! Thank you for sharing your creation. Nancy
I am so glad you liked them Nancy!!
Hi Christy, I just wanted to thank you for those wonderful Refrigerator-Peanut Butter-Milk-Granola Bars. They were simply fantastic, I’m eating one now-Ha-Ha! Be Blessed and Keep Cooking Up Those Wonderful Dishes!
I am so glad to hear that you liked them Annette!!!
I plan to make these as soon as I can remember to buy honey when I go to the store! I have been twice and keep forgetting!
I was wondering if you took requests for recipes? If so, can I throw this one into the ring? Beef jerky? How to make beef jerky. I saw your post on watermelon jerky which we intend to try if we ever get enough watermelon that everyone doesn’t eat it before I have a chance to try this! Anyway, I have seen a few recipes online that I am hesitant to try. EVERYTHING I have tried from your website and your cookbooks, has not failed me on the first try! So I thought I would ask (beg) for you to just put it in the back of your mind for when inspiration might be likely to strike!
Apologies, for submitting this in this fashion, I did not see a way to make suggestions on your website! Perhaps you are just so popular now that you cannot take all the suggestions? I would sure think so! Everyone who asks me aobut your recipes, I refer them to you!
Take care and please keep these EASY and awesome recipes coming! I am like a SUPERSTAR at my work and family potlucks!
Please tell me what you mean by sun butter. I have never heard of it!
It is like peanut butter but made with sunflower seeds instead of peanuts. 🙂
Those look really good – and I may actually have all the stuff to make them at home. School starts back for us this coming Monday, and it sounds like a great easy breakfast that my little guy can eat while waiting for his bus!
Great idea Kasey!! They would be perfect to grab and go in the mornings!
Made your recipe, can’t wait to try, chilling in the fridge now. I’m wondering could you create a coffee/iced coffee type flavored one!!?? Maybe with dark chocolate drizzle. The kraft brand peanut butter was my favorite, I know they had strawberry, and I believe a chocolate, and not sure what else. I think a coffee would be outstanding!
I will have to think on that one Kristi, I am sure it can be done, might just take me awhile.
Oh goodness these sound delicious! What could I use instead of honey, I’m allergic. I miss out on lots of good stuff because it calls for honey.
I have only ever used honey but perhaps you could try Karo syrup.
I used Eagle Brand Caramel flavored sweetened condensed milk instead of the evaporated.
The best bars I have ever made!!! Topped with chocolate.
Oh my goodness, I bet that was delicious!! Thanks for the tip, I am going to have to try them that way!!