Granola Bars from Good Eats

Hello Fellow Foodies!!!

A friend of mine asked me this morning if I had a granola bar recipe. I do indeed. This recipe came to be from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/granola-bars-recipe2/index.html

I love Alton Brown, and his show. Many of my recipes have come from ideas I have gleaned off the "Good Eats" TV show.

One of my favorite things to do with this particular recipe is decrease the fruit to 4 ounces and add 2.5 ounces of dark chocolate chips-it does add some fat, but who doesn't like dark chocolate? As well you can substitute pumpkin seeds for the sunflower seeds to give these bars a cancer fighting punch!

Eat Healthy, and be well!

 

GOOD EATS GRANOLA BARS

Ingredients

• 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, about 2 cups
• 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, about 1/2 cup
• 3 ounces sliced almonds, about 1 cup
• 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, about 1/2 cup
• 6 ounces honey, about 1/2 cup
• 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, about 1/4 cup packed
• 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Directions

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.