This recipe came out of a recent need to have granola in the house. As a recovering child of a hippie, granola wasn't actually a staple- it was considered junk food. Right along with Grape Nuts and other shocking foods of the like. Don't get me wrong- it isn't lost on me that I resent all of the organic whole foods and recycling that my mom thrust upon me decades before it was cool- yet I have wholly embraced it as a person and parent. I just have to live with that. Anyway, for some reason I have just been craving granola. A good friend of mine, (Our CarolMerrill), gave me a recipe a year or so back and I finally got to making it.... then Cooks Illustrated put Granola in their recent issue and I felt it was a sign. As with many things Cooks Illustrated, it sounds great but there are just too many steps to make it perfect- So basically this is a recipe inspired by CI and friends, then a recipe gone wrong in a very yummy way.
Crispy Granola Bars
- 2c reg oats
- 1/4c coarse flour- oat flour or almond flour work great
- 1/2c crispy (brown) rice cereal(whole foods has a good 365 brand for pretty cheap)
- 1/4tsp salt
- 1tsp vanilla
- 1/4c nut butter of your delight (see note)
- 1/4c sweetie: I used 2T agave and 2T maple syrup
- semi-optional: 2-4T mini chocolate chips
- optional: 1-2T flax meal, 1T chia seeds or what ever you love to add (nuts, seeds, dried fruit....).
Nut butter note: my favorite has been to use Sunflower Butter or Almond Butter because of their mild flavor. When I have made these with Peanut Butter, I have simply found them too Peanut Buttery if you know what I mean. Mike loved them that way but he is funny like that.
Directions: (Preheat oven to 350deg)
1. Mix dry stuff in one bowl
2. Mix wet stuff together in a separate bowl (as with the
Breakfast Cookies, I just build it in a wet ingredient measuring cup)
3. Mix together and smash the heck out of them into a parchment lined pan (really smash them) and cook ~10-12 minutes depending upon if you want a chew or crunch factor.
4. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting.
