Roberto's Granola Bars

I posted on facebook a couple of days ago that I had made my home made granola bars, and a couple of people asked for the recipe. I suspect it was jokingly, but here it is. I confess that I got this a few years ago off of the Food Network website after seeing Alton Brown make them on "Good Eats." The recipe calls for dried fruit. I use a combination of blueberries and cranberries. One last tip, when you put the mixture in the baking dish, really press down as much as you can, otherwise when you cut into them the squares break appart fairly easily. Enjoy!

Granola Bars

Home made granola bars

Ingredients

1. 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
2. 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
3. 3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup
4. 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
5. 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
6. 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
7. 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
8. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
9. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10. 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Directions

1. Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. 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.
3. In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat.
4. 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.
5. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.
6. 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.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Search, share, and cook your recipes on Mac OS X with SousChef!

I get about 9 squares out of each pan.


The nutritional value per square is:

Calories: 354
Calories from fat: 98
Total Fat: 11g
Total Carbohydrates: 53g
Fiber 4.5g
Sugars 31g
Protein 9g

Play with it to your liking. Good source of energy before a ride!

Ride on!