Kid Tested Nut Free Granola Bars Food

NUT FREE CHEWY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a mixing bowl, combine oats, salt and cinnamon.
• In small saucepan, combine honey and coconut oil. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Turn the heat off and stir in the vanilla.
• Pour honey mixture into the oats and stir until well combined.
• Stir in pepitas and dried cranberries if adding. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, add in chocolate chips.
• Spoon mixture into your parchment lined pan and spread evenly. Spray a small amount of cooking spray onto your hands and press the mixture firmly into the pan so that it stays together.
• Place the pan in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the bars with the parchment paper and cut into 12 even bars. Enjoy!

NUT FREE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180c and line a dish with parchment paper. I used an 8x8 inch dish.
• Add the honey and butter to a jug and microwave gently until the ingredients have melted. You can also do this in a pan on the hob. Add the sugar and water and mix until all dissolved.
• Add the oats, rice krispies, flour, dried fruit, seeds and coconut to a large bowl and mix. Pour in the the melted butter mixture and mix. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.
• Transfer this mixture into the prepared dish. Take another piece of parchment paper and use that to push down firmly on the mixture. You need to make it as compact as possible in the dish.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, leave to cool and then put it in the fridge or freezer for 1 hour. These steps are essential to stop the bars from falling apart.
• Remove from the fridge and lift the parchment paper out of the dish and cut into small bars.
• Keep in the fridge or freezer.

KID SAFE (NUT FREE) GRANOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine oats, cereal, and wheat germ or flaxseed in large bowl.
• Heat brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, and salt in saucepan just until sauce melts together.
• Remove from heat, add vanilla, stir, and add to oat mixture.
• Thoroughly fold sauce into the cereal. This takes a bit of patience and the cereal mixture will appear a bit dry.
• Spread onto greased jelly roll pan.
• Bake approximately 20 minutes, taking out to stir (so the edges don't burn) every 6 or 7 minutes, until it is toasted to your liking. I like it nice and crunchy so I let mine go about 24 minutes or so normally.
• Cool, stirring every 5 minutes or so to ensure that it doesn't clump together too much - it will not harden in "clusters," rather it ends up a little looser like cereal, which is great for sprinkling over yogurt.
• Store in airtight container.
• *VARIATION for adults: Replace crisp rice cereal with 2 cups nuts of choice - almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. or combination. Follow remainder of recipe as directed.

KID-TESTED, NUT-FREE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Combine oats, spelt flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
• Combine applesauce, honey, banana, egg, and dates in a blender; blend until very smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and mix well.
• Scoop granola mixture into the pan. Press down firmly with wet hands to spread evenly in the pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until very lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut into bars. Cool completely before lifting from the pan, about 30 minutes.

NUT-AND-SEED GRANOLA

Steps:

• Position an oven rack at the bottom of the oven, and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Whisk the maple syrup and oil together in a large bowl. Add the almonds, pecans, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseed and salt, and toss to coat.
• Spread the mixture out on a baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and scrape and toss the mixture around. Continue to bake until golden and still slightly sticky, 10 to 12 minutes more. Or, for a deeper, toasted version, bake until deeply golden (you may start to smell the toasted nuts), 13 to 15 minutes more. Let cool. (The granola can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.)