Chewy Fruit Granola Bars Food

CHEWY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter or margarine, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups assorted chocolate chips, raisins, nuts etc.
• Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.

CHEWY, NUTTY, HEALTHY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Stir peanut butter and melted butter together in a bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar, honey, corn syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt; stir. Mix applesauce into peanut butter mixture.
• Combine oats and flour in a bowl; toss to coat oats with flour. Stir peanuts and raisins into oat mixture. Pour peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture; stir to coat completely. Spread mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and continue baking until chocolate melts and edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes more. Spread melted chocolate chips with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to coat the top. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

CHEWY FRUIT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine oats, sugar, oat flour, salt and cinnamon; mix well. Stir in apricots, cherries, coconut, pecans and sunflower kernels; set aside., In another bowl, whisk together honey, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and water. Add the honey mixture to the fruit mixture; mix until crumbly. Pat into a lightly greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Cool in pan for 5 minutes., While still warm, cut into bars. Remove bars to a wire rack to cook completely. Wrap bars individually in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container with parchment paper separating layers.

THICK AND CHEWY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 pan in one direction with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper and exposed pan with non-stick spray.
• Stir together all of the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk the vanilla, melted butter, liquid sweeteners, nut butter and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.
• Bake the bars for 30 - 40 minutes, until they are brown around the edges, the top will brown a little as well. They may seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center but they will set up once completely cool.
• Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. Once completely cool you can cut them with a serrated knife into single servings. If they seem too crumbly then put into the fridge to cool further. Wrap individually or store in an airtight containter. They freeze well.

STARBUCKS CHEWY FRUIT AND NUT BARS

Steps:

• Ingredient note: look in your health food aisle for a healthy alternative to Rice Krispies. The brand I found is made by Enviro-Kidz and uses BROWN rice.
• Prepare 9x13 pan with non-stick spray (or line with parchment paper).
• In a large mixing bowl, toss all dry ingredients. Feel free to substitute your preferred nut or dried fruit.
• In a saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and allow to boil one minute. (Note: boiling the sugars is what helps the bars become firm and not sticky, so this step is important).
• After boiling, turn off heat; add vanilla and peanut butter. QUICKLY pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients and toss to combine.
• Pour warm mixture into prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture down into the pan to compress the bars so they will slice evenly.
• When cool, use a sharp knife to cut into 18 bars (1 long lengthwise cut and 9 cuts across). Enjoy with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee for an authentic experience!
• Note: Starbucks does not list corn syrup in their ingredients, but the sweetener in their list is not readily available. I tried using Maple Syrup, but the bars were very crumbly and would not stay together in bars. Therefore, I found that Corn Syrup is the best ingredient that is readily available.

GRANOLA BARS WITH DRIED FRUIT AND SEEDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a 13x9" pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both long sides; spray parchment.
• Pulse 3/4 cup fruit and 1/2 cup hot water in a food processor until smooth and incorporated, 3-4 minutes. Add honey, almond butter, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and pulse until combined, about 15 seconds. Add 1/2 cup oats and pulse until well combined, 30-45 seconds. Add pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, and remaining 1 cup oats and 1/2 cup fruit. Pulse until just combined, about 15 seconds.
• Transfer mixture to prepared pan, pressing down until completely even. Bake granola until darkened, firm around the edges, and the center gives just slightly when pressed, about 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool in pan. Remove granola using parchment overhang, then cut into 20 bars with a serrated knife.
• Do Ahead
• Granola can be made 5 days ahead. Keep tightly wrapped at room temperature.

CHEWY OATMEAL FRUIT BARS

Steps:

• Directions, Oven at 350 degrees, have a baking pan ready.
• Mix the dry ingredients together, add the oil and apple sauce and mix.
• Separate about 2 cups of the mixture. Put the mixture into a pan or two - we used 1 14"x12" pan. You can grease the sides of the pan, but it isn't necessary on the bottom.
• You want to pack the mixture down and have it be about 1/4 inch thick.
• Spread on the preserves and then crumble the remaining dry mixture on the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
• Let cool 10+ minutes and enjoy.
• Oats & whole wheat are good for fiber, the soy adds some protein, and the apple sauce is a good partial substitute for oil/butter, keeping it pretty moist.