Today was all about oats at our house. Well oats and laundry we always seem to have laundry to do here. I've been trying really hard to buy fewer and fewer convenience products that I can simply make myself rather simply. Granola bars are one of those items that my family loves but they are fairly expensive and really not all that good for you if you buy most major brands. The other problem is that my daughter can't eat most granola bars in her classroom because they contain nuts of some sort. So I found a recipe for a simple nut free granola on SparkRecipes.com it was very simple to make and oh my gosh delicious. The only thing I would say is don't be in a total rush to get them out of the pan, cut them in the pan instead of trying to flip it over on to a cutting board. The pieces were delicious but they aren't as pretty or as uniform as I would have liked. Guess I need to get a second 9X13 so I don't have to rush to clean the one I have for the next project. Speaking of which that was also an oat project but that is still cooling in the pan where it belongs so I've got a bit longer before I can share that one.
Sooooooo gooood! I think next time I'm going to try dried cherries and apricots.
Homemade Nut-Free Granola Bars
Submitted by: BLSCT123Easy to make granola bars that even my picky-eater loved!
Number of Servings: 14
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (or other dried fruit)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup oil (veggie or canola)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins (or other dried fruit) and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well with wooden spoon or your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden brown at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes then cut into bars while still warm. DO NOT ALLOW THE BARS TO COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE CUTTING or they will be too hard to cut.
Makes 14 - 2 inch by 4 inch pieces.
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