Almost Granola Bar Cookies Food

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a large pot, combine the butter, brown sugar and honey. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
• Add the oats, rice cereal, almonds and flax meal (or wheat germ) to the pan and fold with a rubber spatula until well combined.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press down lightly with a rubber spatula to even out. Sprinkle the miniature chocolate chips over top, adding more or less to suit your taste, and press down firmly with the spatula so the chips stick.The mixture should be tightly compacted in the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 1½ - 2 hours to cool.
• Use the foil overhang to transfer the uncut bars to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into rectangles. Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you have to stack them, be sure to use parchment paper or foil in between the layers, otherwise they'll stick together and fall apart.
• Note: If you are substituting dried fruit for the chocolate chips, mix it in along with the other ingredients as opposed to sprinkling over top.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The granola bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, move them to the refrigerator and store there.

ALMOST A CANDY BAR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Let dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. In a large bowl, combine dough and granola bars. Press into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, 10-12 minutes or until golden brown., Sprinkle with butterscotch chips and marshmallows. Bake 3-4 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to brown. Sprinkle with walnuts; arrange pretzels over the top. In a small saucepan, melt the peanut butter chips, corn syrup and butter; spoon over bars. , In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Spread or drizzle over bars. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm before cutting.

EASY NO-BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line a 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to fit neatly against the base and up the sides. The parchment paper will make it easy for you to slice the bars later.
• Place the oats in a large mixing bowl**. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Now we'll blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor or blender (or, you can chop them by hand). Add any large nuts (like almonds or pecans) first and blitz for a few seconds. Then add the rest and run the machine for a few more seconds, until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky nail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
• In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Stir until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it's close to room temperature before you pour it into the dry mixture (this is especially important if using chocolate, since it will melt).
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it! If the mixture was easy to mix together, that's a sign that you need to add some more oats-sprinkle in more oats until you can't incorporate any more.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
• Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight. (The oats need time to soak up some of the moisture so they aren't sticky.) When you're ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 4 even columns and 4 even rows.
• Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper (if you store them all together, they will stick to one another). Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
• Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
• Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

ALMOST GRANOLA BAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Use a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer.
• Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and continue mixing until smooth.
• In another bowl, briefly whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; and then add this to the wet ingredients, mixing briefly just until everything is incorporated. To use one less bowl, alternately you can add the baking soda and salt to the batter first, then mill the flour directly into the batter and fold it in.
• Finally fold in the oats, chocolate chips, nuts, and dried fruit. The oats are needed for a proper batter consistency, but the other additions are optional.
• Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes if possible. Your cookies will simply be a little flatter if you skip the chilling step.
• Preheat your oven to 325F.
• Using a spoon and damp fingertips, shape the batter into balls and place them on a baking sheet with a couple of inches in between.
• Bake for 8-12 minutes. The timing will depend on your cookie size. Look for lightly browned edges and no shiny-wet batter in the center of the cookies.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven, wait a few minutes, and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
• Store the cookies in a covered container after they have completely cooled.
• You can freeze extra batter by pre-making cookie balls, freezing them on a sheet and then transferring them to a plastic container OR by laying a sheet of plastic wrap on your countertop, spreading the batter in a thick line on in, and rolling it up into a tube. Unwrap and cut 1/2-inch-thick slices when you're ready to bake. In both methods, bake from frozen.

GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Spread the oats and coconut evenly across a baking sheet.
• Toast oats and coconut in preheated oven until browned, about 10 minutes; transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Mix honey, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir until smooth. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and coconut; stir to coat. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven until beginning to dry, about 15 minutes for crunchy granola bars, less if you like them chewy. Cool completely before cutting.