Granola Bars

Matheus loves granola bars; he likes to eat them for breakfast, and sometimes as a snack as well. Granola bars are yummy and even sound like a healthy treat, however if you don’t pay attention to the ingredient list of store bought ones you could be ingesting a lot of not so good for you stuff together with a little of the healthy oatmeal and dried fruits (and I mean things I read and can’t even pronounce…).
As a nice mom who happens to love cooking and experimenting, I decided to try a few granola recipes for Matheus’ breakfasts, this way at least I know what he is eating and make sure he is getting some proper nutrition before sending him off to pre-school!
I tried a couple recipes already and this one was the absolutely winner. So much so that I didn’t even try another one, since Matheus declared he loved these and has been happily requesting them for breakfast!
Granola Bars III came from the website allrecipes. They are super easy to make, simple and yet delicious!
I have made them with both chocolate chips and dried fruits (dried cherries and raisins), and they were equally good (omited the walnuts both times I made). Matheus liked the chocolate chips ones better though!
The bars are chewy, kind of moist but with a nice texture to it. They also freeze remarkably well; just let them sit on the counter for a few hours (or overnight) to thaw, or a quick 20 seconds on the microwave will quickly do the trick for you.
I am sorry for the picture, I know they didn’t come out very good-looking bars, but they sure tasted great!
Ana

Granola Bars III (allrecipes.com)
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped English walnuts
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and spray with vegetable oil spray.
In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, raisins, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and walnuts. In a smaller bowl, thoroughly blend oil, honey, egg, and vanilla; pour into the flour mixture, and mix by hand until the liquid is evenly distributed. Press evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. Cool completely in pan before turning out onto a cutting board and cutting into bars.

Granola!

I looove granola, especially with yogurt and fruits for breakfast, yum!! As I have said here before, I love oatmeal in any form, so Granola is just the perfect crunchy snack for me!
However, most commercial granolas not only have lots of stuff in it but also are overly sweet for my taste. So, I usually make my own granola at home. It is a very simple thing to make; the only catch is to pay attention to the oven because the oats can scorch very easily.
I sort of developed my own recipe for granola based on my likings and a few recipes I have seen, but since I saw this recipe last year I really wanted to try it. I like all sorts of apple-flavored things; besides, Joe from the “Culinary in the Desert” gave good reviews on this one too!
Apple-Cinnamon Granola is a lot like the granola I make, so I was quite positive I was going to like this one. And I sure did!
The ingredients are easy and with all the good stuff it could not come out wrong. But be prepared, because it is very addicting; I made half batch Tuesday night, and believe it or not it is all gone, and shame on me… I was the only one eating it! (The husband is not a big fan of cereals in general) Oh well, at least it is supposed to be healthy, right?
Oats are delicious and so good for you! Yum! I am definitely going to make this one again!
Enjoy!

Ana

Apple-cinnamon Granola
3 cups regular oats
1 cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal (such as Cheerios)
1/3 cup oat bran
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped dried apple

Preheat oven to 250°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup applesauce, honey, and brown sugar to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour applesauce mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in an even layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Stir in chopped apple.
Note: Store granola in an airtight container up to one week.
Yield: 6 cups
Cooking Light November 2005