Adaptable & Chewy Homemade Granola Bars

Here’s my take on someone else’s take on a granola bar recipe by King Arthur Flour (I hear their whole wheat muffins are knockout, too). Eventually I’ll get around to trying those granola recipes from a few weeks ago; I’m sure some of them would be great as bars …

Easy, Chewy Granola Bars

Makes: 1 small pan

• 1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats. I think you can get away with normal oats if you triple the water?)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use more for store-granola-bar-sweet. I wanted way, way, less, so I substituted this with 2 packets of Splenda and added a tablespoon of maple syrup later)
• 1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle) I used the mortar and pestle, and added the 1/8 cup rice flour I had made ages ago.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted it; the PB has enough salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Smidgin of freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces – I did 2/3 cup slivered almonds, 2/3 cups walnuts minced fine, and just under 2/3 cups finely chopped coconut. It came out cohesive but a little dry; you need some fruit in there to make it really “chewy”)
• 1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter, optional (I used chunky peanut butter)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup (I did honey, half safflower and half sage since I like that darker, nuttier taste. Sage is on the light side; safflower is pretty strong, so if you use all-safflower, might want to cut down on this and up the water a bit.)
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup (I used 3 of light maple syrup)
• 1 tablespoon water (I forgot this part. oops)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan with parchment paper; lightly grease it with the paper from the butter.

2. In one bowl, combine all dry ingredients; in another, smaller one, all wet (peanut butter is wet). Mix each thoroughly; for the wet, mash the peanut butter so it incorporates as much as it can. Thoroughly mix the wet into the dry.

3. Put mix into parchment-lined baking pan and press down using the back of a largish spoon, saran wrap, or your hand covered with a sandwich bag (or your hand, if you don’t mind losing some of your creation on your hand and having to lick it off). Bake for 30-40 min until golden brown on edges. They can be dark / toasted-looking, depending on what you put into it — when they’re done, they should give a little in the middle, and still be softish from the heat, but they should have hardened up enough that it’s reasonable to think they’ll harden completely when they’ve cooled.

4. Cool completely on a cookie rack; if it’s necessary, chill in fridge 30 min to ensure they’re totally cool. Cut with a serrated knife. To store, wrap individually an keep in an airtight container in fridge. They freeze well.

“Everything but the Kitchen Sink” Cookies

(from New Frontiers Natural Marketplace in SLO). These are really similar to my oatmeal, brown sugar, & chocolate chip cookies. The addition of the coconut gives them a tiny bit of macaroon-esque sponginess, but the walnut tanginess plus the salt made them barely a little bitter, so I’d recommend omitting the salt and probably cutting out a tablespoon or two of the butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup fine coconut flakes (I chopped mine superfine because I don’t like strandy, dental-floss-like bits of coconut)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (I chopped these up a bit, too)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional; I minced superfine. You can also replace with white chocolate chips)

Equipment

• parchment paper
• electric mixer
• cooling rack

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Sift flour and set aside.

3. Using medium speed on electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, eggs, and cream; mix thoroughly. Add sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; mix on low until completely incorporated.

4. Stir in oats and any or all of the remaining ingredients to personalize cookies.

5. Using hands or ice-cream scoop, form dough into 1.5oz. balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoon) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (or an ungreased one). Flatten balls down evenly with your fingers or with the back of a lightly floured wooden spoon.

6. In preheated oven, bake for 16 minutes or until an even, barely-golden brown; halfway through baking time, turn baking sheets. Remove from oven and cool cookies on a wire rack.