An embarassing length of time ago, I assigned Smitten Kitchen’s Chewy Granola Bars for a Long Distance Kitchen recipe. I am finally telling you about them.
I chose the recipe because I wanted a break from toast-with-almond-butter for breakfast. Delicious as that is, variety is even better. I was both pleased and disappointed with the results. Here’s what happened.
You start off by putting your dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. For the dry ingredients, you use a lot of oats and then 2-3 cups of whatever combination of fruit and nuts you prefer. I used pecans, walnuts, unsweetened coconut, dried cherries, and sunflower seeds, although I don’t remember the exact proportions.
I loosely chopped the nuts and cherries in the food processor, although they ended up a little uneven and I might just do it by hand next time. Then you mix in those liquid ingredients (I used canola oil instead of the butter, but coconut oil would’ve been better if I’d had some around) and add some almond or peanut butter if you like (I used almond). Then you press the mixture into a pan and bake.
Look, it’s like a little advertisement for my honey suppliers!
Here’s where I may have had some issues. I doubt myself. Did I mix things thoroughly enough? Did I press them firmly into the pan, or did I press half-heartedly? Should I have let them bake even longer?
Why do I doubt myself? Because delicious as they were, my granola bars weren’t so much bars as just…granola.
I let them cool completely before I cut into them, but still! Still the crumbling! I suppose, now that I reread the recipe, I could’ve tried sticking them in the fridge for a while. They were tasty, but in no way portable or bar-shaped. They were also sweeter than I expected, and I think next time I would cut back on the sugar even more than suggested. Or maybe use a different fruit, or less of it. Dried apples might be nice. I’m determined to try again and make this work. I need a breakfast that I can wrap up in a napkin and take to work if I’m running late, and crumbles just don’t cut it.
Gosh, now I’m ready to try another batch! Check out Bronwen’s (much neater, less crumbly) version, too. Hmm, maybe my wet/dry ingredient ratio was off…? I won’t rest until I find out! Okay, that’s a lie.
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March 22, 2010 at 9:18 am
Ramona
I am having a bit o’ craving for Granola.
Maybe I will make some after Pascha.
I just remembered… I want to buy some red dye… the last couple of years I have waited too long…
Thanks for your comments…. yes Hawaii – do go!
And we loved Flash Burnout … can hardly wait until the new book this september … well I can wait… because it means we get summertime… but you get the idea.
Have your read Lament? Seems like it is crazy similar to Twilight but just different creatures… I will finish it and then give my final opinion.
March 22, 2010 at 9:37 am
jessmonster
This was super easy to make fast-friendly, if you want it sooner rather than later. And my second batch was a success – I ground up the oats a tiny bit, because I used old-fashioned rolled oats instead of quick cooking, and I pressed very VERY firmly. And behold – granola bars!
Red dye! Clearly I’m behind on my Pascha-thinking. I’ve only gotten as far as remembering I need to make hot cross buns for Palm Sunday.
I did read Lament – and really liked it because the characters were sarcastic and sharp and snarky – all the things that Twilight wasn’t. I enjoyed the plot but I don’t really look for originality in my fairy-stories! Actually, it reminded me more of a book called Wicked Lovely (which I didn’t like because the characters took themselves too seriously).