I've been searching for a granola bar recipe for quite some time, and I think I finally found the secret. I've discovered many recipes that taste fantastic, but they never stick together, and they are very hard to pack in lunches if they fall apart.
But my newest cookbook shared some wisdom that I'd never heard before.
Granola Bar Option:
For recipes containing 6-8 cups dry ingredients and 1-2 cups liquid, add to liquids:
1 beaten egg
about 1/3 cup milk.
Stir liquids into dry ingredients and mix well. Press mixture firmly into 2 well-greased 10x15 cookie sheets. Bake at suggested temperature until nicely browned. Cut immediately into bars. Remove from pans when cool. For sweeter bars, increase honey.
So, I made one of my granola recipes, including oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, wheat germ, powdered milk, honey, oil, and vanilla. To the liquids I added the above suggestions, as well as a spoon full of peanut butter. I tossed in a handful of cranberries and chocolate chips.
THE END RESULT
These bars have held their shape better than any other recipe I've tried. The egg also provides some extra protein, for a boost of stick-with-you-ness, which I also love. It is definitely my greatest success with so far, and worth a try with other granola recipes. Kitchen Stewardship has a very tasty recipe for both granola and granola bars, but they too fell apart, so if you try this recipe make it with the above addition and see how it turns out.
Or, if you are feeling very adventurous, create your own granola bars using the above 6:1 ratio of dry vs wet ingredients. Some of our favorite additions include:
- oats
- sesame seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds
- dried cranberries
- raisins
- mini chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
- chopped dried apricots
- honey
- maple syrup
- coconut
- coconut oil
What can you come up with for your custom granola bars? Let me know if you have any fantastic suggestions...I'm always looking for something new to try.
Homemade granola bars are the best! Yum!
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