Fruit Filled Granola Bars Food

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.

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!

FRUIT FILLED GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Combine in Mixing bowl the oats, flour, baking soda and brown sugar.
• Cut in margarine until it looks like coarse crumbs.
• Reserving 1/4 cup of mixture for top, press remainder of mixture firmly and evenly into bottom of an ungreased 9X9 pan.
• Spread pureed fruit onto top of oatmeal mixture.
• Sprinkle reserved 1/4 cup of oatmeal mixture onto top, following it with a sprinkling of all of the nuts.
• Press mixture very lightly to make sure all of the nuts are'committed' but not so hard that the fruit all squishes to the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes or until top is golden.
• Cool in the pan.
• Cut into bars.
• Makes 20-25 bars.

CINNAMON BERRY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line the base of a 18 x 25cm tin. Mix the oats, seeds and nuts in a roasting tin, then put in the oven for 5-10 mins to toast.
• Meanwhile, warm the butter, honey and sugar in a pan, stirring until butter is melted. Add the oat mix, cinnamon and dried fruit, then mix until all the oats are well coated. Tip into the tin, press down lightly, then bake for 30 mins. Cool in tin, then cut into 12 bars.

FRUIT-FILLED OATMEAL BARS

Steps:

• In mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda.
• Cut in margarine/butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of the flour mixture.
• Press remaining flour mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9x9x2 baking pan.
• Spread with desired filling.
• Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture.
• Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden.
• Cool in pan on wire rack.
• Cut into bars.
• FILLING OPTIONS:.
• ***Following cookbook's 'shortcut' suggestion of substituting 10 oz jar of preserves in place of homemade filling, I used a store-bought, very dense, low-moisture apple butter (like a thick jam). I have also tried it with blueberry preserves but the preserves were too moist--it made the bars sticky not good.***.
• RAISIN FILLING:.
• In medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Add 1 cup raisins. Cook & stir until thickened & bubbly.
• APPLE-CINNAMON FILLING:.
• Peel/core/chop 2 medium apples. In medium saucepan, combine apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a dash of ground cloves. Bring apple mixture to a boil; reduce heat & simmer 8-10 minutes or until apples are very tender.
• APRICOT-COCONUT FILLING:.
• In medium saucepan, combine 1 cup diced dried apricots and 3/4 cup water. Bring apricot mixture to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon all purpose flour. Stir into apricot mixture. Cook and stir 1 minute more or until mixture is very thick. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.

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.