Thursday, November 30, 2006

Homemade Granola Bars (Crumble)


It may be a granola alright, but definitely not a granola bar/square. With Em buying so much of the expensive Quaker Granola Bar in an attempt to munch on healthy snacks in the office, I decided to make a healthier, less expensive version. Not much success though, as you would have guessed by now based on the pic. While it tasted great, even better than the commercial ones if I may say so myself - I couldn't get it to stick together properly. I slice, and it will just crumble right off the pan. What could I be doing wrong? Perhaps too much butter in the recipe? Or lacking in honey? Perhaps I should have added rice krispies? Yah, that should have done the trick. If anyone has any idea, I'd be glad to hear it. In the meantime, here's the recipe. I aptly now call it the GRANOLA CRUMBLE.

You will need:


1 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup nuts, sliced into small pcs (I used an assortment)
1 cup dried fruits (I used dried cranberries, raisins, apricots)

Place oats, coconut, sesame seeds, and the nuts in a baking sheet. Roast in preheated (300C) oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, simmer honey, butter and sugar together in a pan until sugar is dissolved and it is brought to a soft boil. Take off heat and add the vanilla.

Remove oat mixture from the oven and transfer to a square baking pan. Add the fruits and stir well. Pour honey mixture over it making sure it is well dispersed. Press firmly in the pan, and bake for another 20 minutes.

Take out of the oven. Wait to cool a bit then slice into squares. Wait until completely cool before removing the squares from the pan. Wrap individually in foil if desired, or store in an airtight container up to two weeks.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lemme taste this one please :)

Armi

Dee said...

Yup, Im due to make another batch as we just ran out. I'll save for you!!