a household staple

Granola bars. 

'Round here, we eat the heck out of these.  As most of the grocery store variety contain way more crap than a granola bar should, we tend to stick to the homemade version.  My dear MIL gave me this recipe years ago and I've tweaked it a bit to our tastes, as well as Finn's dietary restrictions.  The version we make is dairy- and egg-free, and I change it up each time I make it based on what tasty options I have in my pantry at the time.

Here is the standard recipe, with my dietary conversions in parentheses.


Chocolate-Cranberry Granola Bars
2 c. old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 c. all-purpose flour (I use half whole-wheat flour, half white)
1 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. chocolate chips (I use vegan chocolate chips, available at Whole Foods.)
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 egg (I use 1 tbsp. ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp. water.  Don't ask me how this makes an egg.)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. maple-flavored syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 pan with foil, and grease foil.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, with a large spoon, mix: oats, flour, cranberries, chocolate chips, sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.  Stir in oil, syrup, vanilla, and egg until blended.  With wet hand, pat mixture into prepared pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until edges turn golden.  Cool completely in pan before cutting into bars.  Yields 18-24 bars.

What I love about this recipe is that you can just mix in whatever dried fruits, nuts, etc. that you have in your pantry.  Try making these with dried cherries and white chocolate chips, or dried chopped apricots and coconut flakes, or raisins and chopped almonds.  Enjoy!