Granola Bars

Confession: my camera has gone MIA. The picture I took with my iPhone was not blog worthy, but if you click on the recipe link below, mine look almost that good. The edges are more crumbly, but you get the idea. The last pictures I remember taking were in my house, so please send me good juju that I will find it soon.

Not Michael Landon is kind of obsessed with snacks, and they must have "substanance" (yes, spell check, I know this is not a word). This is very foreign to me, as someone who has been trying to loose weight since about seventh grade. Snacks are for curbing hunger, not providing energy. But what do I know.

These are yummy, and pretty easy. It's basically rice krispie treats, only with oat granola instead of rice krispies. They're also pretty big. I would recommend spreading it out in two pans if you've got them. They crumble a bit at the edges when cut.

First, we need granola.

Homemade Granola: modified from Martha, makes 8 cups. Her receipe makes 6 1/2, but the bars call for 8, which is why the quantities are screwy. If you like granola cereal, just ignore the +s and make a double batch.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp shredded coconut
• 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds (Not Michael Landon hates almonds, so I used some cashews I had lurking in the pantry; I didn't quite have enough, so I added some more sunflower seeds and this next ingredient)
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp flax seed (my addition, it's good for you to boot - you're getting the idea this isn't like a baking recipe where everything has to be all precise, right?)
  
• 1 tablespoon + 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon + a pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon + a smaller pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp honey
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (golden) raisins

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment, and spread shredded coconut on top. Bake until toasted. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (My wheat germ was untoasted, so I toasted that here too, on the same sheet. Watch carefully, neither takes long.)
2. Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In a large bowl, toss together oats, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, stir together honey and butter; pour over oat mixture. Stir well. Spread onto sheets. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Break up granola; sprinkle with raisins and toasted coconut. Store in airtight container.

Now onto the bars. The granola is all gummy when it comes out of the oven, so wait for it to cool first. You probably don't need to break it up too much by hand, the dumping in and stirring will take care of some of it.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars: again, adapted from Martha, makes 16 sizeable squares

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 10 1/2 ounces mini-marshmallows
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 8 cups Homemade Granola

Directions

1. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan; set aside (I lined it with parchment paper instead). In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows; stir until melted, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in peanut butter and granola until well combined (I stirred the peanut butter in first on its own; felt like it would mix throughout better that way). Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Dampen your hands, and press mixture into prepared pan, distributing mixture evenly. Set aside to cool. Invert pan, releasing bars. Cut into sixteen squares. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

I'm no food safety expert, but I always store stuff longer than directed, especially if it's not refrigerated or anything. I've had cookies that tasted fine weeks (months?) later, and I've never gotten sick. Well, only once, but I'm not certain that was my fault - I blame packaged lettuce.