Super Grain Granola Bars

So I LOVE this recipe for granola bars! I found the base for it on another blog years ago. It's pretty much amazing and so versatile! The "base" is oats, brown sugar, honey, and coconut oil (butter totally works too). Once you have those goodies you get to choose what other grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or chocolate (warning chocolate chips will likely melt, just to warn ya, but that is not necessarily a bad thing ;) you put in them.

Recipe yields 18 regular size bars (bars that are about the size of quaker granola bars in the silver packages :)

Ingredients:

2 cups of Rolled Oats- toasted*
1 cup Other Grain(s) - toasted (I've used quinoa, wheat germ, and flax seed. Look for the nutrients, proteins, fiber in the grains you need and put those grains in the mix!)
1/2-3/4 cup Nuts or Seeds chopped/sliced/whole and roasted* (sunflower, almond, peanut, pumpkin, cashew, whatever makes your taste buds happy :)
1/2-3/4 cup Dried Fruit (raisens, craisens, apricots, banans, dates, blueberries, cherries or whatever makes your taste buds happy :)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Honey
3 tbs Coconut Oil (or butter)
1 tsp Vanilla

*toast/roast = put item in a dry skillet on the medium-high by moving the grain or nut around the pan until they turn a more brown color and you can start to smell the "toasty" smell. If you don't know what the "toasty" smell is... stick with looking for a more brown color and error on the side caution so you don't get a batch of burnt stuff. You can also do this in the oven, but I like to be able to watch it happen... I error on the side of caution since I've burnt stuff in the oven. haha.

Directions:

Prep your mold pan (I use a 15x9 glass dish resulting in wider width, but thinner height bars. If you use a 13x9 they'll be thinner width, but more height) by placing greased wax paper, greased side up, in the bottom of the dish and having another piece of greased wax paper ready for putting on top.

In a large bowl mix together oats, grains, nuts/seeds, and dried fruit(s). In a medium sauce pan on medium high heat place honey, brown sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir them together until all the brown sugar is absorbed into the honey and your mixture comes to "firm" ball stage. (follow the link if you would like to know the details of what temp that is :) As the sugary goodness mixture gets to temp it will start to steadily build really small bubbles that stack onto each other. There's your sign to pour it into your bowl of dry ingredients. Mix them all really well  until all the dry ingredients are evenly covered in syrup.

Once they are mixed pour the mixture into your prepared dish and press down with your mixing spoon until the mixture starts to compress. Once the majority is compressed pretty well, place the other piece of greased wax paper, greased side on granola bars, and start to compress even further using something that has weight. I use a drinking glass that I can roll around like a rolling pin on top of it, but anything will really work as long as you work with even pressure and move around the pan as you're going.

Let the bars cool (about 2hrs) and then take off wax paper, and flip onto a cutting board. Cut them into the desired size. I keep them in a tupperware in the fridge for longer life. If you eat them cold they might be a little hard, but let them get to room temp and you have a chewy granola bar!

Enjoy!



The recipe in the picture is 2 cups toasted oats, 1 cup toasted quinoa, 3/4 cup raisens, 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds :)