Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Granola Bars

Clearly, I use hiking as an excuse to make homemade granola bars. Last year, I made fruit and nut energy bars which we took with us while hiking in Arizona, and just recently I tried the granola bars from the Flour book for a state park hike closer to home. It's hot here, and it's dry, and it doesn't seem like either of those conditions will be changing any time soon. So, we ignored all of that and went to Pedernales Falls State Park for a hike, a picnic, and some splashing through very little water. As you can see in the photo below, the riverbed was nearly dry in places courtesy of our ongoing drought. It made it easy to walk up and back from one side to the other in several places along the river, but it also made for disappointing splashing after our hike. At least we had plenty of water with us for drinking and plenty of snacks. This version of granola bar is a layered affair with a quickly-made jam between a crunchy bar and a seed-filled topping. Overall, they're a little more tender than other granola bars I've tried, and they taste more like an indulgent treat than a healthy snack.

About that jam, all that's involved is adding water and sugar to a mix of dried fruit, bringing it a boil, and then letting it sit for about an hour. Once the dried fruit softened, the mixture was pulsed in a food processor to make a chunky jam. Dried apples, cranberries, and apricots were suggested, but I didn't find dried apples at the grocery store, so I used dried mango instead. The jam can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. When the food processor was cleaned and ready to go again, the base of the bars was made in it with flour, oats, brown sugar, coconut, salt, cinnamon, and butter. After being pulsed together, two-thirds of that mixture was spread in a nine inch by thirteen inch baking pan, and it was baked for about 30 minutes. For a crisper base layer, you could go for a longer baking time. The baking pan was removed from the oven, and the bottom layer was topped with the jam. The remaining granola mixture was refrigerated while the base layer baked, then, when cool, it was broken into chunks and mixed with flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds. There was supposed to have been millet, and I was sure I had some millet in one of my grain and flour bins at home, but since it wasn't actually there, I used hemp seeds instead. That crumb mixture was sprinkled on top of the jam, and the pan went back into the oven for an additional 50 minutes.

Even though these bars were full of healthy oats, seeds, and fruits, they tasted far more decadent than you would expect. The jam layer and crumb topping helped disguise the bars' granola-ness too. Our hike might have been in unrelenting heat next to a nearly dry river, but there were no complaints about the snacks that day.



23 comments:

  1. fantastic bars! I really love that jam. A great idea.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. oh wow! Lisa that looks so good:) wish i was your neighbour:)

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  3. I love granola and I keep making them but I never thought of making a granola bar...
    hmmnnn.. I'll make one in the future...

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  4. Those are fantastic looking granola bars. I hate granola bars and I would gladly eat these up. Just perfectly prepared.

    Bravo!

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  5. I never thought I'd say that, but these granola bars look so delicious, I think they could rival most cookies :) I think the mango actually made it better, it's much sweeter and with a stickier texture than a dried apple.

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  6. That looks more like a very indulgent cookie then a granola bar. Lol. Would love to have some of that!

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  7. I've been hearing so much about that book Flour. I've got to check it out here in the UK. Your granola bars look yummy, I definitely wouldn't need to go on a hike for an excuse to make them though LOL, life is too short for hiking!
    *kisses* HH

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  8. Oh I'll believe it, as they look quite decadent to me at least! Definitely richer and tastier than my idea of a typical dried-out granola bar.

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  9. I would definitely hike long distances to have a piece of these granola bars! Dried mangoes in place of the suggested dried fruits for the quick jam is just my kind of thing. 8-)

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  10. I like granola bars, this recipe is a keeper! Love the tip on making the jam and it sounds like a tasty layer in the granola bar. thanks for sharing.

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  11. Ha! I think it always best to hide the granola-ness in a granola bar, too. No reason to get too healthy about a snack. I also pretend that making granola isn't synonymous with bare footed hippies (that association was the biggest hurdle I had to get over before making my own granola).

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  12. Shame on me. I would not find an excuse to have your granola bars anytime. I will just...EAT.

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  13. I always been a fan of granola bar. Will remember to bring this when I go hiking.

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  14. Lisa, I'm not much of a hiker but I'd gladly do so for some of these granola bars. They look wonderfully tasty! :)

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  15. I could see how these could power you for a good long hike, but also satisfy as your sweet reward of dessert after you reach your destination.

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  16. yum--the bars looks good, but that jam looks stellar! :)

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  17. I have granola bars as a possible cooking project for the "near future", and a few recipes in my computer to pick one for a first timer. I am a bit unsure about making the jam, having never made it before, but the concept is definitely a winner!

    Yours turned out perfect!

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  18. those are some lovely looking delicious and made to perfection! Nice presentation too:)

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  19. Dried mangoes are making me smile ;-) I love the tropical touch of those energy bars!

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  20. Hi Lisa, I go hiking almost every weekend and I'm always looking for new snacks to bring along. I'll have to give these granola bars a try, they look super tasty. That looks like a beautiful area you went hiking in. Have a great weekend!

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  21. Granola bars...how I love you....these look great.

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  22. Fantastic bars. I love outdoors and usually bring a treat with me. This would be perfect for my next hike.

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  23. I would use ANY excuse to make these bars. The look great!

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