Monday Munchies: Homemade Granola Bars

As I was searching for granola I discovered that I could also make my own granola bars.  The recipe I started with was an adaptation of a King Arthur Flour recipe posted by Smitten Kitchen. 

Since I'm unable to follow a recipe I didn't follow the one from Smitten Kitchen but it gave me a good start.  Below I'm going to share my adaptation of the recipe and make a few suggestions for giving it another try.  While these granola bars were good, I think they could be even better.

Homemade Granola Bars - First Try

2 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts - I used 2 cups of dried mixed berries and 1/2 cup of flax seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides.

Stir together the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk the vanilla, oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until completely mixed. Press evenly into prepared pan.
Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes.  The top and edges should be brown.  The bars will still be soft but will set as they cool. 

Cool the bars in their pan then lift parchment paper out of pan and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Once cool, cut the bars into squares and store in an airtight container.


Now for the suggestions for the second try.  This was a little too sweet and sticky for us.  Next time I'm going to drop the corn syrup and put in chocolate chips.  I also plan to make these with banana and peanut butter.  I'll be adding 1/3 c of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of dried bananas and 1/4 cup of mashed banana in place of 1/4 cup of oil.  I'll let you know how it goes.