'ola bars

From January 2011

Just tried Alton Brown's recipe for granola bars and we all love them.

Our changes:
- used dried apricots, cranberries and gigantic golden raisins the size of snowshoes
- added 1/2 cup of raw pumpkin seeds to the toasting mix
- left out the wheat germ (I tried them with the germ and didn't care for it)
- used a little less honey than it called for (but could still use less sugar for my taste)
- added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (but could take 1 tsp. I think)

Good to know:
- lots of fun mixing and measuring for little hands
- MUST let these cool completely or they will crumble
- make sure you butter the hell out of the pan
- press them down again a bit after you take them out of the oven
- can take them out a few minutes early to keep them a little softer
- 175 calories each for 16 servings

Granola Bars

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

40 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

16 (2-inch) squares

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.

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.