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| compacted & pressed |
Several weeks ago, or maybe longer now, I saw conversation
about making your own granola bars. It has been on my list of new stuff to try
for some time so I perked up when reading about it again. Presented in the
conversation was a simple recipe to try. I copied it into a document &
saved it. So there it sat, on my desktop, quietly waiting for me to open it
back up & have a go at it.
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| ready for the oven |
That day finally came over the weekend. I had to either go
buy more or make some, as our stock pile was … gone. Hubby takes one to work
every day as part of his lunch. I enjoy one on occasion & we always take a
few with us when we go walking/hiking or for long rides.
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| fresh out the oven! |
Let me say right now that I will not again buy any from the
store. Not when homemade tastes this good & is so easy.
There are more varieties/recipes out there for granola bars
than I know I’ll ever have time to try… and that is way cool to me. The
varieties are now truly endless. No more limits by brand or price from the
store. I love that.
Here is the recipe I used …
1/2 c pure cane sugar (I use organic sugar)
1/2 c softened butter (organic unsalted is what I used)
1/2 c real maple syrup (organic pure maple/agave blend I
used)
1 egg (farm fresh!)
1 tsp real vanilla extract (we have some organic on hand)
3 1/2 c oats
1 c optional add-ins (dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips)
(I used 1/3 cup each
of chips, fig pieces & organic raisins)
Cream sugar and butter; add other ingredients one at a time
in order of appearance. Mix well (using your hands is a treat :). Press onto
cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. You can stir it about halfway through
baking if you want "granola" or let it bake through and then cut into
bars.
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| fully cooled & cut |
Sounds simple enough right? It was. I used my jelly roll
pan, lined with parchment paper. To get the thickness of what we’re used to in
a granola bar, I pushed everything together more which is why the pan was not
full. When it came out of the oven, it was obviously hot, & soft still, in
the center. I put the whole thing on a cooling rack for maybe an hour. Then I
pulled it out of the pan to let it finish cooling completely before I cut into
it.
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| wrapped & ready! |
My only issue right now is how to store them & make them
portable as individual servings. I opted for plastic wrap but I really don’t like
that. You know … that whole plastic thing. I’d be happier if it were wrapped in
something else. Just not sure what.
I know one thing tho … with this new granola bar I could
easily eat one every day as well. That means I’d be making more once a
week! This might not be a bad thing …
And I am certainly looking forward to experimenting with all kinds of recipes
& varieties!
Sounds like a great idea....I'll be making some soon!
ReplyDeletelet me know how they turn out!
DeleteI will have to try this, but substitute seeds and nuts for the oatmeal. Maybe try coconut oil instead of the butter too.
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy. I know there are millions of options & I'll spend a long time trying them out I'm sure. Let me know if you try some & how they turn out!
DeleteI love granola bars...thought often of making my own. NOW I don't have an excuse : ) Thanks for the recipe! It looks VERY yummy!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us taste one - I bet if you replaced the maple syrup with honey, or a combo of honey/molasses, it'd hold together better. Maple would work for plain granola, but for bars that don't crumble, I'd try honey.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback! I talked to Alison about them as well, before you guys got there today. She recommended the same thing, molasses. One recipe down, a million more to try!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It is now on my to do list. Hubby and I take granola bars or some other unhealthy bar to work every day too so I hope I can incorporate making them on a weekly basis.
ReplyDeleteYou could try wrapping them in wax paper. Or maybe store them in glass, and use a reuseable sandwich bag to bring them to work.
I have made alterations to this & had better results. Thank you for your comment tho! Any homemade granola bar is better than that store stuff. I guess wax paper would be better than plastic at least. I will work on my own version of a re-usable wrap most likely after the holidays since I have a few shows to do & stressing out trying to make something new is not something I wish to add to my list! LOL
Delete