Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I love granola bars. The real kind. For me this means without chocolate chips or loaded with excessive added sugars.
I prefer the soft, chewy bar to the crisp, crunchy variety – but either way, a granola bar done right is the ultimate adaptable, portable, healthy snack.
If you’re a granola bar fan, making your own is a great way to save money, increase nutritional value, and tailor them to suit your taste.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
While these are baking the smell is wonderful. Toasted nutty, fruit, oaty, buttered heaven. Yankee Candle needs to get going on this…
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I loved these granola bars and they made a great on-the-go breakfast bar. Satisfying and filling, they lasted all week and met with a lot of praise. I am already looking forward to making another batch using a new fruit and nut combination.
What would be in your dream granola bar?
Sidenote: My little sister Melanie used to adorably call granola “regola” when she was a toddler. Now she is halfway through college and makes me feel old, but also so very, very proud. Love you, Smelly Melly!
Chewy, Homemade Granola Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, ground until fine in a food processor or blender)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2-3 cups dried fruit and nuts (10-15 oz. if using a scale)
1/3 cup nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew, etc.) (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. water
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8×8 pan with parchment or non-stick foil, allowing for overhang on 2 sides. Lightly grease the parchment or foil and exposed pan.
- In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients, including your selected fruits and nuts.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, corn syrup, vanilla, and water.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture, and toss to combine. Add nut butter if you are using it.
- Press mixture into prepared pan with the help of a rubber spatula.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the bars are browned around the edges. The mixture will still seem soft in the middle, but it will set as it cools.
- Cool the bars completely in the pan, then lift the parchment or foil to remove and place on a cutting board.
- If they seem crumbly (mine did) pop them in the fridge for a half hour to make them easier to cut neatly. You may want to store them in the fridge if the weather is humid. Either wrap them individually or stack them in an airtight container.
For my bars, I used chopped walnuts, almonds, cherries, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, and unsweetened coconut.
Note that if you use peanut butter, you will definitely taste it!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
