Fruit And Nut Granola Bars Food

FRUIT AND NUT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease an 8x8 glass pan.
• Place nuts and oats on a baking sheet, and bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly toasted.
• While oats and nuts are toasting, place in a saucepan over medium heat the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
• Stir until the mixture bubbles, and keep it boiling and stirring for about 2 minutes.
• When oats and nuts come out of the oven, turn it down to 325.
• Take the pan off the heat, and when the oats are finished, pour them right into the saucepan and mix to combine honey mixture evenly.
• Stir in the chopped dried fruit.
• Press mixture into the glass pan with the back of a spoon - it will be pretty sticky.
• Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, and let cool completely before cutting.
• Wrapped in saran wrap, these will keep for at least a couple of weeks!

LIGHT FRUIT AND NUT GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Toss the rolled oats, spelt flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, canola oil, applesauce, maple syrup, dried apricots, pecans and ground flax seed together in a bowl, and mix well. Spread the granola mixture on the lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes, stir the granola, then bake for another 15 minutes until dry. Cool completely before serving.

FRUIT & NUT GRANOLA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Heat the oil, honey and maple syrup together in a pan. Mix the oats, almonds, pine nuts, puffed rice and sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl. Pour over the honey mix, stir well to coat, then tip onto a large baking tray. Bake for 15 mins until everything is golden and crisp.
• Take the tray from the oven, leave to cool, then break up any big clumps. Mix together with the dried fruit and coconut shavings. Serve with Greek yogurt and fresh raspberries. The rest of the granola can be stored in a sealed jar and enjoyed over the next 2 weeks.

HEALTHY NUT-FREE GRANOLA BARS (NO-BAKE)

Steps:

• Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides for easy removal. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor, process dates and honey until they form a paste.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cranberries, pumpkin seeds and coconut.
• Add date mixture to oat mixture and mix, using your hands, until well combined. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and firmly press into an even layer.
• Chill in freezer for about 20 minutes until firm. Remove from freezer and lift granola mixture out of pan using overhang on sides. Cut into bars and serve.

DRIED FRUIT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
• Toss the olatmeal, almonds and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir halfway through the baking time.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• Place the butter, honey and brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
• Pour the oatmeal, almonds and coconut into a large bowl.
• Pour the melted butter/honey mixture over the oat mixture. Add the dates, figs, raisins and sunflower seeds and stir well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.
• Cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares.
• Place the cinnamon chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium for 45 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at medium an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred.
• Using a knife or the back of a spoon, spread the melted cinnamon chips over each granola square. Place the squares onto parchment until set.

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.

CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER FRUIT AND NUT GRANOLA BARS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment and pour the oats on so that they are spread evenly. Toast the oats for 25-30 minutes or until golden and toasty. On a separate pan, toast all the nuts for 18-20 and on a third separate pan, toast the seeds for 15-20 minutes or until golden and toasty. We want to keep the nuts and sunflower seeds separated as the nuts will be chopped and the sunflower seeds need to remain whole. (round cake pans work well here).
• Line a 13"x9" baking dish with parchment paper. Secure the parchment paper to the two long sides with clips.
• While the nuts, seeds and oats are toasting, rough chop the cranberries and apricots. Add them to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• In a 2 quart sauce pan, mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, salt and vanilla extract until all the ingredients come together. Gently warm the mixture on low just until it is pourable. If needed, use a whisk to get the ingredients to come together.
• Add the toasted oats and sunflower seeds to the large mixing bowl with the dried fruit. Rough chop the nuts and add them to the dried fruit/oat/nut mixture in the large mixing bowl.
• Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix throughly.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly in the dish. Use your hands to press the mixture in. The firmer the press, the better!
• Refrigerate the granola for at least 1 1/2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
• Lift the granola out of the pan using the parchment as handles. Cut into 1 1/2" x 4" bars.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freezer for up to a month.
• Mix the cacao and warmed oil in a small bowl. Mix until ingredients are incorporated. Drizzle over the granola bars. Pop in the fridge for a few minutes to allow chocolate to set.

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.

NUT BUTTER GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast nuts pumpkin seeds on a rimmed baking sheet until golden brown or slightly darkened in color, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Lightly oil 13x9" pan and line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on both long sides. Lightly oil parchment.
• Add 1 cup oats to nut mixture in food processor and pulse until nuts are a sandy consistency and no whole oats remain. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Pulse any dried fruit larger than a raisin in food processor (no need to wipe out) until about the size of chocolate chips. Transfer to bowl with nut mixture. Add remaining 1 cup oats and stir to combine, breaking up any fruit that is stuck together. Add remaining 3 Tbsp. oil and stir to coat. Add peanut butter, but don't stir it in; set aside.
• Bring honey, salt, and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat (it will bubble up). Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it is foaming vigorously and smells like caramel, about 3 minutes.
• Immediately pour honey mixture over peanut butter in reserved bowl (it will melt the peanut butter). Stir to combine, making sure to aggressively break up any clumps.
• Using a fork or small whisk, lightly beat egg white in a small bowl to thin out. Add to oat mixture and mix until egg white is no longer visible.
• Scrape oat mixture into prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer. (Be sure to really compact the mixture into the pan-it helps to use the bottom of a heavy glass or metal measuring cup.)
• Bake granola bars until deep golden brown and no longer sticky or wet, 30-35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then lightly score into 16 long rectangles (1 cut lengthwise and 7 cuts crosswise will make bars that are about 6½x1"). Let cool completely in pan, then use parchment to hoist bars out onto a cutting board. Using a sharp chef's knife, cut along marks to separate bars.
• Do Ahead: Bars can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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.