Granola Bars

Lately I've been trying to replace much of the prepackaged food we eat with homeade. It tastes better and cuts down on the amount of preservatives the kids eat. Also, it makes me feel dumb when I eat things with ingredients that I can't pronounce. The kids have stolen enough of my brain cells, I don't have many more to spare.



This week I tried these granola bars and while hubby and I loved them, kids weren't too thrilled. They are more of the Kashi variety than the Quaker type. I found another recipe that I hope will be more kid friendly and I'll post that one too assuming it's not a complete disaster.

I can't remember where I found this recipe, I believe the Food Network:

Granola Bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used less)

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8x12 baking dish.

2. Toss the oatmeal, almonds and coconut together on a cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

3. Reduce oven temp to 300 degrees.

4. Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the chocolate chips, apricots and cranberries and stir well.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool 2-3 hours before cutting.

* I lightly pressed them down again when they came out of the oven.

* Cook longer for a more crispy bar, shorter for a chewy bar.