Granola Bars
A blast from the past…. C.M.
One of the first posts I wrote here at SPC (do you like that? catchy? dumb?) was about processed food and how I was resolved to at least note how much our family was consuming. And it’s not really that bad. At home we eat store bought bread, cereal, frozen yogurt…. do we have to include condiments in this count? Esme can’t live without ketchup thanks to her big cousin Henry so we can throw that on there. But it’s when we’re out and about that I find I’m relying on processed foods. Cheddar Bunnies, Yops, granola bars, you know, park snacks. Which is fine – there are pretty good options on all these things now. And I don’t care if Cheddar Bunnies are laced with crack – I love them so much I’m going to be eating them when my kids are in high school. (Dear Annie’s, I know your Cheddar Bunnies aren’t laced with crack but there is something devilishly addictive in there.)
Still, I’ve been thinking about granola bars and wondering how hard it would be to make my own. Hey, I’m on a mat leave, I’ve got time for these things. The good news is they’re really easy. The other good news is the recipe I’ve devised is extremely flexible – basically whatever you’ve got kicking around your pantry will work. I had a lot of hippie ingredients from an ill-fated detox in January so they ended up in these bars. If you just watch the dry to wet ratio this recipe will work. Next time I’m going to add unsweetened, shredded coconuts and chopped dates. Let me know if you try any interesting combos.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats (we use the rolled oats that take 10 minutes to cook but I think quick would work, too)
- 1/3 cup oat flour (if you don't have it, you can do as I did and throw the oats in a food processor for a minute until it's fine)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flax meal (could use flax seeds instead or wheat germ)
- 1/2 cup dried apricots chopped quite finely
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup pecans chopped to about the same size as the fruit pieces
- 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (you could substitute corn syrup but I like this option better)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 canola oil
Method
Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Mix together all dry ingredients well.
Make sure the pieces of fruit and nuts are evenly distributed
Mix all wet ingredients well.
Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly.
Line a cake pan with parchment paper.
Use a big enough piece that you can grab the edges to lift the bars out of the pan once they're out of the over.
Press the granola into the pan, using the back of a spoon to flatten out the top.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, keeping an eye on them at the end.
They'll seem a bit soft but if it's brown, they're ready.
Let them cool well before lifting them out of the panLet them cool even more before cutting them into bars.
They'll be hard to cut if you don't wait.
I cut mine quite small. I’d rather give Esme two or even three than throw food away which I feel like we’re always doing. Wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap or in tupperware that seals well. You don’t want them drying out.
The results are a not-too-sweet granola bar which have been a hit with my testers, including Esme who ate one on the way to daycare this morning.
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We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
2 Comments
Martha
May 07, 12:54These sound great! So happy you did this, as granola bars are high-fructose-corn-syrup central down here in NY. And the organic ones cost as much as a hormone-and-antibiotic-free chicken.
Lynne Lopes
June 07, 17:25Thank you so much! Homemade ANYTHING is always better & these bars look yummy. BTW I like the “SPC”. As long as you don’t put SPCA lol. Thanks for sharing & I love reading your comments!