“Simple, Soft and Chewy Granola Bars”
I think granola bars are one of those foods that people tend to be picky about. Some people like nuts in their granola bars for a nice crunchy texture and others can’t eat one that doesn’t have chocolate in it.
I, for one, tend to be a picky granola person and I also get irritated when I look at a chapter long list of ingredients labeled on a box. Not only is it long, but a lot of the ingredients sound science experiment-ish. Although buying them from the store can be extremely convenient, some are also pretty expensive at $1+ per bar. I thought I’d give baking them from scratch a go. The recipe below is from http://www.inspiredtaste.net/.
My favorite thing about making granola bars from scratch is that you can easily customize the recipe to suit your taste. If you aren’t into the ingredients in this recipe you could substitute the ingredients with the “*” with some of the following: dried cherries, golden raisins, chopped banana chips, pecans, peanuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, white chocolate chips, pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds (for a boost of protein!), chia seeds, flaxseeds, and the list could go on!
Ingredients (makes 12 bars)
2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped*
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped*
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips*
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F and toast oats and chopped almonds on a non stick baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, stir and then bake for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Line an 8–9inch square pan with parchment paper. Please don’t ignore this step, or you’ll be fighting the granola out of the pan at the end!
2. In a small saucepan, stir together butter, honey, brown sugar, salt and vanilla over medium heat until everything has dissolved.
3. Pour the saucepan mixture into the large bowl of oats and almonds and mix together. You should let this cool for like 10-15 minutes unless you want all of your chocolate chips to melt when you add them in!
4. Next, when you feel like it has cooled you can add in the dried cranberries and mini chocolate chips.
5. Spoon the mixture onto the parchment lined baking pan and begin to press the granola into the pan with your fingers and palms to make an even surface. You can use a spatula to help you with this. Add the extra 2 Tbsp of mini chocolate chips to the surface and mash it in.
7. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The picture above is a much larger batch. You should be able to cut 12 bars with this recipe. Store in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for harder bars and at room temperature for softer bars.
