granola

homemade granola bars

·     1 2/3 cup rolled oats

·     1 cup rice crispies ( I used cheerios)

·     1/2 cup brown sugar 

·     1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats processed til finely ground in a food processor)- I skipped this....

·     1/2 teaspoon salt

·     1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

·     2 cups dried fruit, nuts or chocolate chips (mix it up, but total should be roughly 2 cups)- I used trail mix

·     1/3 cup peanut butter (optional)

·     6 tablespoons melted butter

·     1 teaspoon vanilla

·     1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or brown rice syrup - I used Honey

·     1 tablespoon water

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 pan lining with parchment paper or using a nonstick spray.

2.      Stir together dry ingredients, including fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together vanilla, melted butter, liquid sweetener and water. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, including peanut butter (if using), combine until crumbly.

3.      Spread into the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown along the edges. These will still be soft when they come out of the oven, almost like they are under baked. Keep the bars in pan until completely cool (this will help them mold, to avoid crumbling). Once cool, cut with serrated knife. If bars still seem crumbly, even after fully cooling, place them in fridge for 30 minutes to help them set.

4.      Wrap individually and store in air tight container. ( I did not wrap individually)

I modified the recipe and learned that basically you can mix any dry ingredient together with the butter mixture and bake it and these are delicious. 

I was working an event in North Carolina and the venue made homemade granola bars and they were amazing, ever since then I wanted to try it myself. Mine were not as good, but still yummy! It was the perfect treat with my coffee and magazines on Sunday morning!