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Finding the Perfect Granola Bar Recipe

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Granola bars. As far as prepackaged, convenience foods go, I figured that would be the easiest to start with. While I wasn’t entirely wrong, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

Last weekend I made my first batch, using Alton Brown's recipe (with just a few tweaks to account for what I had on hand).  They weren’t terrible, but they were way too sweet and the bars fell apart when we tried to eat them.

So, I gave it another go yesterday.  The result is pretty darn delicious (if I do say so myself), but again, they fall apart when we eat them. I will happily gobble this batch up, but I am determined to find the perfect bar. Anyone have any advice?

In the meantime, here’s the recipe.

Delicious, but crumbly, Granola Bars
Adapted from Alton Brown's Granola Bars

After I put these in the oven, I realized I should have included cinnamon.  So, add some if you are so inclined.  This makes 12-16 bars, depending on how wide you cut them.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped or smashed
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup almond butter
2 Tbl butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups dried apples, chopped

Line an 8x11 glass baking dish with parchment paper. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the oats, nuts and wheat germ in a large bowl. Once mixed well, spread out on a baking sheet (preferably one with lips). Place in oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring a few times.

While the oats are toasting, combine the honey, almond butter, vanilla and salt in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts, stirring occasionally.  Stir in dried apples.

Once the oats are toasted, remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees. Add oat mixture to the liquid mixture. Stir to combine well. Pour into the lined baking dish. With a large piece of waxed or parchment paper, press down firmly to evenly distribute the mixture. Make sure it’s tightly packed in – this will help the bars stay together at least a little bit.

Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY.  I mean it!  If you try to cut the bars when they are even a little bit warm, they will fall apart into a million little pieces.

Once cool, cut into bars and store for snacking later. I usually wrap the bars individually with plastic wrap and then store in an air tight container.  Enjoy!  And let me know what you think/any suggestions.

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