March 2009--Granola and Granola Bars

I recently went to a cooking class about making your own healthy breakfast foods. I loved this recipe for granola--especially because honey was used as the sweetener and there was no oil. It was also dirt cheap to make and Kameron loved it. Give it a try!

Granola

8 cups rolled oats (I used half quick oats and half rolled oats)
1/2 bag coconut (about 7-8 oz)
1 cup nuts (I use pecans--yum!)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup honey (you can use less if you want less clumps--about 1/2 cup)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1-2 cups raisins or dried cranberries (don't add raisins until after granola is baked)

Combine all ingredients except the raisins or cranberries. Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted brown on top. Let it cool completely then spread raisins or cranberries over the top. They will get mixed in as you use a spatula to put granola into an airtight container. There are many ingredients that you can add to the basic recipe above for more protein or fiber such as: oat bran, wheat bran, whole or ground flax seeds, sesame seeds, dry milk powder, etc.



Granola Bars




I got this recipe for granola bars from Jenny in my ward who taught a class this month on food storage. We were able to sample some recipes that were made from food storage items. I made these granola bars for the class and then made another batch tonight--I highly recommend these. They taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but I feel better about eating them because they're labeled "granola bars." It's gotta be healthy, right?

Granola Bars

• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup brown sugar--you can reduce the amount of sugar; I usually use a 1/2 c.
  
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup honey
• Mix-ins like chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc. I used 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup coconut, 1/2 c. sunflower seeds, and 1/4 c. wheat germ.
  

Mix all the ingredients and press into greased 11x13 pan. Dough will be very dry and crumbly, but press until dough forms with pan. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes or until edges are browned. Take out and let cool entirely. Hint: Cut the granola bars before they are completely cool. They get stiffer as they cool and harder to cut! I made this mistake the first time and was trying the chisel the granola bars into strips.