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Granola bars, an adaptation

Granola bar

Cooking for some is all about finding a recipe and running out to the store to get all the ingredients they don’t have on hand. That isn’t me though. I start with an idea of what I want to eat and then because I have a relatively well stocked pantry and freezer I can usually achieve my goal by adapting one or more recipes into something doable. This is the perfect example of that process.

I love granola bars. But it is seriously difficult to find good ones. Sometimes they’re too natural with no sweet aspect to their flavor and other times they are too sweet and overly processed. Sam at Becks and Posh built a granola type bar by adapting a recipe from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks. So I’ve used Sam’s recipe as a starting point.

I thought I had a package of Bob’s Red Mill Rolled oats but it turned out to be a bag of rolled wheat…they look similar and it was stored in the freezer so I decided to use them in place of rolled oats. In place of the crisped brown rice cereal that Sam used I substituted the oats from the bottom third of a box of Trader Joe’s granola. I substituted ground flax seed for oat bran and I used a mixture of pecans, cashews, and almonds and dried mixed berries for the fruit component. My sweeteners are honey and turbinado sugar and I honestly used no restraint with either.

The final product is delicious, satisfying, high in fiber, full of good stuff, and easy to make. They are chewy, crunchy, and sweet.

Granola Bars

1 tsp butter

1 1/4 cups rolled wheat
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, cashews, and almonds rough chopped
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups granola oats from the bottom third of TJ’s granola
1 cup dried mixed berries

1 cup mesquite honey
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

Use the butter to grease a 11″ x 16″ sheet pan. In a small pan heat the honey, sugar, vanilla, and salt over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Pour the sugar mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well until thoroughly combined. Pour into the sheet pan and using wax paper press the mixture into the pan so it is firmly and evenly dispersed. Let it cool and then cut into bars and serve. I wrapped mine in wax paper squares and stored them in the refrigerator in a ziploc bag.

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April 8, 2007 | Filed Under food, fruit and nuts, quick and easy, recipe, rice and other grains, sweets 

comments

2 Responses to “Granola bars, an adaptation”

  1. Lisa (Homesick Texan) on April 9th, 2007

    I also try to always cook based on what I have on hand, even though it often makes for a creative yet fun challenge. Love your adaption, especially the addition of flax seed. What a tasty way to sneak some Omega 3s into an (already) healthy snack.

  2. Beth (Thepiggs) on April 10th, 2007

    Your version of the granola bar will be a good addition to my recipes!
    I, too, like your addition of the flax seed. Healthy can taste good and Hubby will not know what hit him! Healthy, good tasting and easy, WOW!
    You get 5 stars from me on this.

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