Granola Bars!

I've never really been into store bought granola bars. Their sugar content makes my pancreas hurt and their "healthy claims" incense we with amused rage given their ingredient list is about 100 items long. I think they are sort of candy bars disguised as good eats. However, with my recent routine change that now includes a morning workout, I was in need of something that could boost my energy level quickly without weighing me down. I immediately jumped to my blogger crush's website and found a couple interesting looking recipes. Punching the ingredients into the Weight Watcher's calculator, I about had a heart attack. All the recipes had AT LEAST 6, if not 7 points! If you aren't familiar with WW, that's a lot of points when most people's daily allotments are in the 20's, for the whole day. After bemoaning about it for a day, I decided I didn't really care. My morning workouts generally calculate to about 5-7 points so I figure it will all even out in the end!

I'm also working on a new possible venture which I will be mysterious about for now. This new thing requires trying a lot of recipes to find the best so I foresee a lot of granola bars in my future. And the great (and bad) thing about making your own granola bars are the endless possibilities of combinations of add-ins. I pretty much followed this recipe. I'm a fan of chewier, thicker bars rather than hard and crunchy. On my first attempt I learned a few things... dried fruit is EXPENSIVE!, dried dates have the same consistency as slugs (in my opinion) and I prefer things to be on the chunky side for good texture. For my first go round I used old fashioned Oatmeal (I didn't have any quick cooking) sweetened shredded coconut, pecans, almonds, dried apricots, dried cranberries and dried dates, NO nut butter, 1/2 cup of sugar and honey as my sweetener. The result? Well, I loved the texture, the chunkiness was great but they were still MUCH to sweet for me. I'm thinking the sweetened coconut may have been the culprit. I've already began hunting around for unsweetened for my next go round. I plan to cut down the granulated sugar more, afraid that if I cut down on the honey they won't stick together. I think the leftovers would be divine toasted until golden and put on yogurt. NOTE! Use a piece of plastic wrap to really mash the mixture in the pan. Don't be afraid to put a lot of force on them to really get a good compact bar. Put the whole pan in the fridge until they are completely cool and solid before cutting to avoid a crumbly, sticky mess! These store wonderfully in the freezer, individually wrapped in plastic. Rumor has it they also do well in the freezer but I can't vouch for that.

 So I'd love to hear what everyone would want in a granola bar if they were to be options available (Hint hint) Also the WDW Princess 1/2 registration opens next week! AHH! I still can't decide whether to just do the 1/2 or to do the 1/2 And the 10K. I'm terrible at making desicions! Thoughts? Ideas? Just want to tell me what to do? Go for it!

And the adventure continues!

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (She refined this recipe so she gets all the credit!)

"When it comes to granola, what you’re looking for is a basic proportion of chunky (nuts, dried fruit) to sticky (syrups, sugar, butter or oils) and from there, you can really go to town. The vanilla is optional. The cinnamon is optional. You can use no dried fruit or you can use all dried fruit in your 2 to 3 cup mix. You can toss in things like puffed rice cereal or flax seeds"

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use more for a sweetness akin to most purchased bars; use less for a mildly sweet bar)
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces)*
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (I used almond butter) (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (Additional to the sweetener above, this really helps everything stick)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if you’re using it) until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on the back of it.)

Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)

Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.