Granola Bars...3rd Time's a Charm!

So, I think I finally found a granola bar recipe that tastes great and that stay together in a bar! I found this recipe on Pintrest and was so excited when I started cutting them apart without any crumbles. I will be making this one again. At first I almost didn't give the recipe a try because I saw that it called for granola, which I did not want to buy and did not have a good recipe for, but then I found this recipe for applesauce granola on the same pintrest site, which looked easy enough, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't add the nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or raisins because I just wanted a basic granola to add to the granola bars. The granola is really good by itself as well.

Tyler and I are leaving for the Chesapeake Bay tomorrow morning for the rest of the week to celebrate our 3 year anniversary and as our "babymoon." See you next week!

Applesauce Granola

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/3 cup raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, warm the applesauce with the honey and oil over low heat.
4. Mix the applesauce mixture into the oat mixture and stir to coat everything. Spread the mixture onto a 9 x 13 baking pan.
5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is a deep brown. Remove from oven and stir in raisins. Cool completely before enjoying.

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars

 

Ingredients

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 cups plain granola

1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies, etc.)

Any additions you want - peanut butter and chocolate chips, coconut and chocolate chips, raisins, craisens.....

Process

1. Line two 9×5 loaf pans or one 11×7 inch baking pan (see tip #4 above if you want to use 9×13) with foil or parchment. Lightly butter or spray the foil. Set aside.
2. Combine butter, honey and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter is melted.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
4. Add the granola and rice cereal into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated. Add desired additions and fold in.
5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill.
6. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars.