making your own granola bars

Discussion in Food & Drink started by alc89 • Oct 12, 2012.

  1. alc89

    alc89Active Member

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    Does anyone make their own granola bars? I usually can get trail mix bars or granola bars on sale, but I feel like I would be much healthier if I made my own from scratch. Plus, I feel like it would be more cost effective - I bet the money I spend on the ingredients would give me more granola bars than if I used the same money to buy boxes of it.

    Here's a recipe from Alton Brown, who is one of my favorites because he is so thoughtful and truly explains food to you:

    Ingredients
    8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
    1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
    3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup
    1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
    6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
    1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
    1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries
    Directions
    Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

    Directions:
    Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
    Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

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    According to the directions, it only takes 1 hour to do - and you get 16 bars out of it! I'm sure that it's VERY easy to change the recipe around and you can easily omit or add ingredients. What do you think? Do you think this is worth it or would you rather just buy the boxes of bars?
     
  2. Bloomatic

    BloomaticActive Member

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    I really like granola bars. This product gives us the possibility of mixing various ingredients nutritious and tasty. It´s an excellent choice to prepare in large quantities and distributed throughout the week. I never get tired of eating granola bars. If the recipe is homemade have a particular taste which makes them more palatable. I know other recipes, but I will try this that you offer, sounds great. :D