thick, chewy granola bars

I know, I know, I just talked up granola bars last September . Waxing on about granola bars
twice in six months is just weird, right? I cant help it, I honestly dont remember last
September. I was 37 weeks pregnant. I was as big as a house. I had a baby tw o w eeks
later, which I barely remember either, though thats probably for the best. I forgot about
the granola bars in my freezer too, until at least December and when I unearthed them
they were so crisp I had to crumble them over yogurt. With a mallet. Then two weeks ago
I bought a house-made granola bar at Whole Foods, sunk my teeth into its thicky, chewy,
ingredient-laden madness and was consumed with envy; why havent I made granola bars
that taste like that? (Minus about half the sugar; theyre crazy sw eet. )

So I got back to the drawing board which quickly led me to a recipe on the King Arthur
Flour website. Ive been warm to their recipes since they led me to the best whole wheat
muffi n Ive ever eaten and this one did not disappoint. With a few tweaks reducing the
sugar signifi cantly and putting it in a smaller pan in an attempt to make them as thick as
those from Whole Foods these were exactly what I had been pining for.
(And seriously, can you imagine a better food gift to bring to new parents? Trust me, few
things are more welcome than delicious nutrient-rich food in compact/one-hand-eatingfriendly packages.)

Mostly, however, Im hoping these will fi ll a void in my ow n diet these days: breakfast.
Ever since we brought in a lovely lady to watch Jacob in the mornings so I could get some
of this wild thing called work done, Ive discovered what a mean boss I am. To me, that
is! I mean to me! (The only thing the nanny has to suff er through is all of the cooking
samples she wants to take home, lingering stenches of bubbling cheese and toasting
granola and wiping the drool off this gummy grin .) I cannot bring myself to spend a
second of this precious work time to eat breakfast. Time is money, Deb! And by the time
she leaves, I am so hungry I am forced to eat the baby. Again. If these granola bars dont
become part of my morning routine, quickly, the poor kid is only going to have one arm
and half a cheek by the time he starts preschool. And Ill have so much explaining to do.
Fortunately for Jacobs remaining cheek, these granola bars have so far exceeded our
expectations that the hardest thing will be getting them to last until Monday mornings
breakfast.

One year ago: Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (apparently, mid-February gets thick
and
chewy
on
my
brain)
Two
years
ago: Escarole
and
Orzo
Soup
with
Meatballs
Three years ago: Vegetable Dumplings
Thick,
Chewy
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Granola

Bars

This is probably the most fl exible recipe Ive posted. When it comes to granola, what
youre looking for is a basic proportion of chunky (nuts, dried fruit) to sticky (syrups,
sugar, butter or oils) and from there, you can really go to tow n. The vanilla is optional.
The cinnamon is optional. You can use no dried fruit or you can use all dried fruit in your 2
to 3 cup mix. You can toss in things like puff ed rice cereal or fl ax seeds. In the comments,
Id love to hear what mix you came up with and how you liked it. I can only imagine the
possibilities.
Of note: The original recipe calls for something called sticky bun sugar which can be
made at home with sugar, butter and corn syrup. It is for this reason that corn syrup is
listed within one ingredient but also separately, and I used all butter rather than tw o
diff erent fats. Whether the corn syrup can be entirely replaced with honey or maple syrup
or the butter can be entirely replaced with a healthier oil is worth auditioning, I just
didnt. Yet. I can tell you this: as is, this is the best granola bar Ive ever eaten.
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use more for a sw eetness akin to most purchased bars;
use
less
for
a
mildly
sweet
bar)
1/3 cup oat fl our (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till fi nely ground in a food processor or
blender)
1/2
teaspoon
salt
1/4
teaspoon
ground
cinnamon
2
to
3
cups
dried
fruits
and
nuts
(total
of
10
to
15
ounces)*
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (I used almond butter) (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, namely because I was not convinced that the fl avor
came
through)
6
tablespoons
melted
butter
1/4
cup
honey,
maple
syrup
or
corn
syrup
2
tablespoons
light
corn
syrup
(see
Note
above)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350&#176F. Line an 8 x 8 x 2 pan in one direction with parchment
paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and
the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.
Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl,
whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sw eeteners and water. Toss the w et
ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if youre using it) until the mixture is evenly
crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in fi rmly to ensure they are molded to
the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on
the back of it.)
Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until theyre brown around the edges dont be
afraid to get a little color on the tops too. Theyll still seem soft and almost underbaked
when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, theyll set completely once
completely cool.
Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20
minutes you can use your parchment sling to lift and remove the bars, and place them
in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)
Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. [Updating to
note, as many had crumbling issues:] If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further
in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the glue, then cut them cold. To store,
wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid
weather, its best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze w ell.
*Suggestions: Dried cranberries, apricots, pecans, sunfl ow er seeds, coconut, walnuts,
sesame seeds, pepitas, dried pples or even chocolate chips. My mix: 1/2 cup wheat germ,
1 cup dried cherries, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup dried unsweetened
coconut fl akes. Because my pieces w ere all pretty coarse, I pulsed them in the food
processor a few times to break it up a little, though this isnt necessary if you dont mind
yours chunkier.