My friend Andrea introduced me to this wonderful granola bar recipe. Whenever I make them, they go. And they go fast. You’ll never try a tastier, chewier bar than this. My best tips: You’re gonna need a bigger bowl and don’t forget the oats! (You might think that’s obvious, but it’s happened.)
Granola bars
1 cup coconut
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almond slivers
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips
6 cups oatmeal
Toast coconut, seeds and almonds in a dry frying pan on medium heat for a few minutes. They will brown quickly once they start. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in corn syrup until combined. Stir in remaining ingredients until combined.
Press into large cookie pan (with edge). Cook at 350 for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Cut while still warm. (I find a pizza cutter works well.)
Substitutions: I have used other seeds and dried fruit depending on what’s in the cupboard. Dried blueberries are a nice change. Sometimes I use half the corn syrup and substitute in a 1/2 cup of honey. The bars crumble more easily, but are still super tasty.
For the batch shown below I tried Naked Oats from Adagio Acres — an organic family farm in Manitoba. The nutty flavour of these oats made for a richer tasting bar.
Tah-dah! The granola bar process is fini! Time to nosh.
We paired our warm granola bars with creamy Paralyzer cocktails. Nom nom
