Honey's Role

• Most recipes follow a straightforward pattern. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then heat your sweeteners, oil or butter and flavorings in a small saucepan and toss the mixture with your dry ingredients. You can then bake the sweetened mix, or simply press it into a pan and refrigerate. The bars set to either a firm or chewy consistency, depending on the recipe. The dry ingredients typically include rolled oats, other grain products, seeds, chopped or whole nuts and dried fruit. Honey and brown sugar, alone or in combination, both sweeten the mixture and bond the other ingredients together.

Sugar-Based Syrups

• Sugar-based syrups are one alternative that works well in snack bars. You can make your own by dissolving sugar in water and cooking it to the soft-ball stage -- 234 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit -- for chewy bars, or the hard-ball stage -- 250 to 260 Fahrenheit -- for crunchy snack bars. Sugar syrup makes a direct, one-to-one substitute for honey. If you don't own a candy thermometer or simply don't have the patience for boiling sugar, you can use corn syrup or English-style golden syrup. Either one will produce an acceptable snack bar.

Agave or Brown Rice Syrup

• Agave syrup is a clear or pale golden sweetener made from the blue agave plant, the same one used in tequila production. Brown rice syrup, as the name suggests, is made from brown rice. They're popular with many health-conscious consumers because they doesn't cause blood sugar to spike rapidly, as many other sweeteners do. You can substitute these syrups directly for the honey in your recipe, though you may need to pre-cook them slightly longer or bake the bars slightly longer to get the same consistency.

Strongly-Flavored Sweeteners

• Other liquid sweeteners have strong flavors of their own, and you can use them either as flavoring ingredients or as an outright replacement for the honey. Light table molasses works well with ginger and other warm spices in a snack bar, but its potent flavor can overwhelm other ingredients. You can add smaller amounts as a complement to your primary sweetener, giving a distinct flavor and color without dominating the mixture. Maple syrup has a mellower flavor, and makes an appealing snack bar. It's too liquid to use as a direct substitute for honey, so first boil it down to two-thirds of its original volume before mixing it with the dry ingredients.