Granola Bars with Variations
June 14, 2007 by top8free
My daughter loves these granola bars. They are sweet, crunchy, and slightly chewy – the essence of what a granola bar should be. They make wonderful carry-along snacks. This recipe owes a debt to Cybele Pascal for the idea of using brown rice syrup to make granola.
4 cups rolled oats
½ cup safflower oil
¼ cup organic sugar
½ cup brown rice syrup
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. In a bowl, Mix together oats, oil, sugar, and ginger. The mixture will be moist and crumbly. Cook on middle rack for 15 minutes, stir, and cook again for another 15 minutes. Stir again and cook for a final five minutes. The sugars will have caramelized and turned a light brown color. Remove from oven, stir again, and use spatula to gently shape mixture into a rectangle, patting the mixture down firmly as you do so. Allow to cool, then cut into bars. Theoretically, these bars will keep for several weeks in an airtight container in the fridge, but they will most likely be eaten within days.
Variations
Ginger-peach granola bars: After the final baking, sprinkle top of mixture with ½ cup chopped freeze-dried peach bits and one Tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger. Toss into mixture, working quickly before it cools. Shape into rectangle and allow to cool before cutting.
Cinnamon raisin-sunflower granola bars: Before cooking, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ cup sunflower seeds to oat mixture. After the final baking, sprinkle top of mixture with ½ cup raisins. Toss into mixture, working quickly before it cools. Shape into rectangle and allow to cool before cutting.
Tropical crunch granola bars: Before cooking, add 1/3 cup shredded coconut to oat mixture. After the final baking, sprinkle top of mixture with ¼ cup chopped freeze-dried mango and ¼ cup chopped freeze-dried pineapple. Toss into mixture, working quickly before it cools. Shape into rectangle and allow to cool before cutting.
© 2007 Jeanette Bradley
Can you substitute olive oil?
thanks for such a great site
If you wanted to use olive oil, I would try using the “light” olive oil, that has less of an olive-y taste. Otherwise, I think olive oil or corn oil should substitute just fine.