Last weekend R and I got up really early and went fishing. It was a great day, but one thing was missing - a good, easy, snack. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pretzels, but something was missing...
I had been craving granola bars for a while and wanted to try a homemade version, I just never got around to making them in time for the fishing expedition.
When Monday rolled around I decided that I really would do it, and began looking for easy recipes. We couldn't use them on the fishing trip but they would still be great for lunches, right?
So I started perusing one of my favorite recipe-swap sites, Recipezaar, and came across this wonderful recipe. I tweaked it a little to match what I had in the house, and only had to buy two items - craisins and almonds. We normally have almonds in the house, but were out, otherwise the only item on the list would have been the fruit.
Listed below is my version of homemade chewy granola bars - absolutely delicious, great snacks, and much more frugal then the Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats 'n Honey pre-made version.
Ingredients:
1 cup wheat flour*
1/2 teas. cinnamon
*I changed the starred items from the original recipe which called for: all purpose flour, raisins (almost any dried fruit would work, so I used craisons), walnuts (we like almonds better), vegetable oil (we used canola oil), 1/2 cup honey (I ran out at a 1/4 cup and it was too dry, so I added the next best thing I could find: molasses), and it called for wheat germ which I couldn't find at the store so I left it out.
First you combine all the dry ingredients, the oats, flour, sugar, fruit, nuts, cinnamon, and salt. Then combine the moist ingredients: egg, honey, and vanilla, in a separate bowl and blend well. Once blended, pour wet into dry and mix until everything is covered. I found mixing by hand was the easiest way. The oats and flour will start to clump together, and each piece will be moist and sticky.
In a large pan (13"x9" is what I used) lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray, spread the mixture until evenly distributed. Cook 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until browned.
Make sure to let them cool fully in the pan before trying to cut - and have a strong knife ready when you do cut them.
This makes a lot of bars, I got 18 out of the recipe. (there are only 17 in that photo - one broke during cutting and I had to put it out of it's misery)We have been eating them as snacks and in lunches all week, and it's been great. They are the perfect snack when you want something to tide you over between meals - crunchy but chewy at the same time, sweet and crispy, in other words: yummy.
And the best part? Total cost beyond basic household ingredients was $1.43 for craisins and $1.26 for almonds. Totaled to $2.69 for 18 bars. This comes to about $0.15 per bar - you won't be able to beat that price anywhere.
