Chewy Granola Bars with Peanut Butter, Nuts, and Cranberries

Last week (as soon as we had a working stove and proper ingredients) I made home made granola bars. I was inspired by the some that my boss had made before we moved from San Diego. They were delicious, and chewy, yet just a bit crunchy; the best combination.



My boss had told me she followed the Smitten Kitchen recipe and I decided I wanted to try it out.

However, when I looked at the ingredients, I decided I wanted to tweak it a bit - go figure. It seems that I never want to follow a recipe completely.

These granola bars are a bit healthier than the Smitten Kitchen Granola Bars. I used gluten free oats, and didn't use any flour. I also opted out of the corn syrup and added coconut sugar, which I find has a very caramelized flavor. I used egg whites to bind the ingredients together and it turned out great.



You can really add which ever ingredients you want to make these your own; chocolate chips, raisins, hazelnuts.




These granola bars are a great snack to have on the go. I even had one for breakfast this morning, topped off with extra peanut butter and I was full for hours.




Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free oats
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 egg whites
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
3 tablespoons grape seed oil

Preheat oven to 325 and line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly grease parchment paper however you wish.

In a bowl, mix together oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax, and cranberries. In a separate bowl, mix egg whites, vanilla, honey, and oil until blended. Mix dry ingredients into wet until everything is evenly coated.

Transfer mixture to 8 x 8 baking dish and flatten out as evenly in the pan as possible, pushing down a bit to make sure it all sticks together while baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the bars have browned around the edges. Allow to completely cool before cutting.

 

Honey Vanilla Granola

For my birthday my good friend Whitney sent me this amazing cookbook called, PURE VANILLA, that includes tons of recipes for vanilla--go figure. Those that know me well know that I love vanilla, and I have a so-so relationship with chocolate. I'm just not a chocolate girl. Anyways, while skimming through my cookbook I decided to adapt the recipe for honey-vanilla granola. I changed a few things to make it a bit "healthier". I also added honey glazed almonds and flax seeds after the granola was done baking. This granola is delicious and crunchy, and the perfect amount of sweet. You can use gluten-free oats (like I did) or you can use regular oats. Completely up to you!





Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
1/4 cup baking truvia
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon gf vanilla bean paste
3 cups gf old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup flaxseeds
1/4 cup honey glazed almonds (from trader joes, or you could use regular toasted almonds)

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix top 6 ingredients together in a bowl, making sure all oats are evenly mixed in.

Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring ever so often to make sure the oats don't burn. (I actually had to bake mine for 35 minutes, so it probably depends on your oven).

Remove from oven and let cool, then break up into clusters, add in flaxseeds and almonds. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy with yogurt or milk.

Crunchy Almond Butter Granola Bars

So I introduced my husband to Cascadian Farm's Almond Butter Granola Bars and he loves them. He loves them so much that he goes through an entire box of them in a matter of days (that is not cheap!). So I decided that I would start making them at home. I searched an Almond Butter Granola Bar recipe and decided to tweak it a bit. I used Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal instead of the puffed kamut and grape-nuts cereal. I also opted out of the brown sugar and added agave nectarinstead. I also did away with the dried fruit and substituted raw almonds instead of pumpkinseeds and sunflower seeds. The result tastes almost exactly thesame as Cascadian Farm's! I think Brett will be pleasantly surprised to find a giant bag of his favorite granola bars in the cupboard.

Ingredients:

1½ cups Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal

1½ cups traditional rolled oats (not the quick-cook kind)

¼ cup raw slivered almonds

3½ tablespoons almond butter (can substitute soy butter or peanut butter), creamy or chunky

1½ tablespoons brown rice syrup

2 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line and 8- or 9-inch square pan with a long sheet ofparchment paper (so ends extend over edges of pan). (I recommend spraying the parchment paper with cooking

spray because the parchment paper stuck to my bars pretty badly once they cooled).

2. Mix the Ezekial cereal, oats, and raw almonds in a large bowl.

3. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the almond butter, brown rice syrup, honey, agave and vanilla until sugar has melted and the almond butter has thinned.

4. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the dry ingredients, mixing well. When everything is equally coated, spread the mixture into the pan. Press the mixture down with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

5. When you remove the pan from the oven, again use the bottom of the measuring cup to press the bars flat. Allow to cool completely before touching them again.

6. When totally cooled and hard, lift the ends of the parchment and put onto a cutting board and cut into bars or squares. I wrapped the individual bars in foil and stored them in a ziploc bag at room temperature.