Crunchy Granola Bar Food

CRUNCHY BAKED GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and arrange oats and almonds on a bare baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until slightly toasted. They shouldn't be browned, just slightly toasted for more flavor. Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees F (162 C).
• In the meantime, add flaxseed meal, desiccated coconut, and sea salt to a large mixing bowl and stir. Set aside.
• Once oats and almonds are toasted, add to the mixing bowl along with chopped dates. Loosely stir to combine and set aside.
• Add almond butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup to a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Then remove from heat and immediately add to the oats (see photo).
• Use a mixing spoon to mix thoroughly, ensuring that the dates and the almond butter mixture are evenly dispersed and coating all of the dry ingredients.
• Add the mixture to a parchment-lined 8x8-inch baking pan (size/number as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) and spread into an even layer. Then top with another layer of parchment paper and press down with something flat - such as a measuring cup - to press into an even, uniform layer.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (162 C) for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan. Transfer to the freezer to speed cooling time.
• Once cooled, lift out of the pan and slice into desired number of bars. I went with 6 bars, but you could easily do 8 bars or 12 squares (amounts as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).
• Optional: Melt dark chocolate and coconut oil in a small mixing bowl in the microwave or over a double boiler on the stovetop. Spoon a small amount over the bars in a drizzle pattern or cover half of the bar with chocolate. Top with sea salt or hemp seeds.
• Once bars have dried/cooled, store covered at room temperature for 5 days or in the freezer up to 1 month.

CRISPY HONEY NUT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
• Spread the oats, walnuts and almonds onto the prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 7 minutes. Add the coconut and toss well with a rubber spatula, then place back in the oven to cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. Keep an eye on it towards the end; you want the coconut to turn golden but not burn.
• In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk and bring to a rapid boil, then turn off the heat and set aside.
• Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300°F. Combine the oat mixture, honey mixture, rice cereal, and dried fruit in a large bowl and toss well. (Reserve the aluminum foil.)
• Use the reserved foil to line a 9x13-inch baking dish, then spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Turn the granola bar mixture out into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly, patting down with a spatula. Be sure the heat is reduced to 300°F, then bake until lightly golden, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely, 1 to 1½ hours. Use the foil overhang to transfer the bars to a cutting board, then use a large, sharp knife to cut into rectangles. Store the bars in a single layer in an airtight container, or wrap the bars individually in aluminum foil, for up to a week at room temperature.
• Note: You can swap in your favorite nuts and seeds as long as you keep the proportions of dry to wet ingredients the same. You can also toss in some dried fruit. On occasion, I'll sprinkle some chocolate chips over top for the kids (you can't mix them in or they'll melt).
• Note: Be sure your oven is fully preheated before toasting nuts; the initial blast of heat to preheat the oven can burn them.
• 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, remove them from the container and let them come to room temperature.

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.

CRUNCHY GRANOLA BAR RECIPE

Steps:

• Place honey and brown sugar in a small sauce pan and dissolve over medium heat until combined.
• Add vanilla and cinnamon.
• Pour this mixture over the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Press the mixture onto a tinfoil lined baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees until golden (about 30 minutes).
• Cut the baked granola into bars immediately, careful the sheet pan will be hot!
• Allow the bars to cool before separating.

CRUNCHY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and reserve.
• Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave, add vanilla extract and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and brown sugar syrup mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden and crunchy.
• When the mixture comes out of the oven, it is still very pliable. You may choose to add in dried fruit as a finishing touch at this time. When granola has cooled completely, store in an airtight container.

CRUNCHY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 18 by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Combine the oats, oil, and salt in a large bowl and mix until the oats are evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet (save the mixing bowl for use in step 3) and spread into an even layer. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until pale gold, about 30 minutes. Remove the oats and lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• Place the nuts in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped, about ten 1-second pulses. Place ¾ cup of the nuts in a small bowl and process the remaining nuts until finely ground, 20 to 30 seconds. Add the finely ground nuts to the bowl with the coarsely chopped nuts and set aside. Combine the honey and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon, if using, and set aside.
• Combine the oats, nuts, and honey mixture in a large bowl and stir with a large rubber spatula until the oats are evenly coated with the honey mixture. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Wet the spatula with water and forcefully pack the mixture into a very flat, tight, even layer. Bake until golden, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool, in the baking sheet, on a wire rack for 10 minutes and cut into 2 by 3-inch bars with a chef's knife. Remove the foil from each bar before serving. Cool completely before wrapping and storing.