Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Red Spruce grows in the area where I live…Nova Scotia, Canada. Hence my user name. As for my granola bar recipe…well, it’s like this…I use recipes more as guidelines these days. It’s a mash up of two granola recipes and an actual granola bar recipe from “Make Your Own Groceries “ by Daphne Metaxsis Hartwig. It’s an old cookbook that I think is out of print. So here it is.
Make the granola. Add dried fruit. Then make the bars.
Granola…
Mix together: 4.5 cups oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup roughly chopped pecans/almonds/walnuts ( I used pecans)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp. Ground cinnamon
Mix and pour over top: 1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
Mix until thoroughly coated. Then spread on oiled baking sheet with sides or in a roaster or whatever is big enough (this recipe can be doubled easily). Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until golden brown at 350 degrees F.
Granola Bars
Now…for the bars… take 4 cups granola.
Add 1 cup chopped dried apricots and 1/2 cup sultana raisins. Add 1/2 tsp. Salt and mix everything together.
in a separate bowl mix 2 tbsp. Butter (I used unsalted), 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract (or almond). Heat to melt butter and liquify honey (if you used creamed honey). Stir to mix everything well. Pour over the granola mixture. Stir to mix well. To be honest, at this point I wash my hands and, after waiting a bit for the liquid to cool, I thoroughly mix the entire mess with my hands. Then I transfer it all to a thoroughly buttered 9x13” baking pan and press it down as firmly as possible. I used a metal spatula. A metal fry pan turner would work too. You really want it dense, so it doesn’t fall apart when it’s finished. Then I bake it at 400 F for15-20 minutes, or until golden. **Cool completely before removing from the pan! Otherwise it will crumble!**
These are so yummy folks! Hubby and I tried one each and I packaged the rest up quickly for an upcoming bicycle hike. I have to admit, these aren’t very frugal. But, my brother-in-law is a beekeeper, so the honey came free. I buy butter on sale for $3.50 a pound or less. I by oats and nuts in bulk at Costco. Most of the other ingredients come from a store called Bulk Barn.