Homemade Granola Bars

Somebody pretty amazing gave me a gorgeous and
girly apron for my birthday. I had already been
meaning to try a recipe for homemade granola bars,
but since the apron was given to me last week,
I decided to "not delay", and try some right away!

I decided to use a recipe from Food Network's Ina Garten.
I had seen the episode where she makes them, and they
looked delicious and seemed pretty straightforward.
I read up on the reviews on the site before trying the recipe.
I actually followed it pretty closely! Just a few small substitutions.
You can find it here.

First, I toasted the oats and the coconut together (I omitted
nuts this first time around - I was out and really wanted to try the recipe anyway)






While they were toasting, I melted and then simmered together
the sweeteners and the binding ingredients: honey, a little butter, brown sugar, vanilla, etc.





In Ina's recipe, she cuts up a few different kinds of dried fruits that she bought, but I have this amazing bag of cut up, dried fruit that I bought last fall from the fruit and nut truck and have been saving in the freezer for this very reason!




Then, you mix the toasted ingredients, wet ingredients, and the fruit together in a large bowl.






Press it into a waxed papered, greased 8x8 pan. Press hard! Bake for about 15 minutes. Then, DON'T TOUCH until they are fully cooled. If you try while they are warm, the bars will crumble and become granola, rather than bars. I turned them out onto a cutting board and used a very sharp knife to make quick and precise cuts.



After I cut them into bars, I wrapped each one in a little sandwich bag for quick grab 'n go type breakfasts, snacks, etc. Eli and I LOVE them! I cut the pan into eight bars. I'm sure it could be doubled to make a 9x13 as well.

They are pure deliciousness. Although they do have some sweeteners in them, at least you know that there are no preservatives, and you can completely control what kind of ingredients you put in your bars. Try and enjoy!