Homemade Granola Bars

I occasionally like to watch this great cooking show on the food channel called Good Eats. The other day, they had an episode on making homemade granola bars and power bars that were much healthier (and without all the preservatives) than the ones you buy at the grocery store. They didn't look too hard to make, so I decided to try them both out. The granola bars were great and very easy to make, so I'm going to post the recipe here. The power bars were . . . . okay, but I wasn't a huge fan, so unless someone requests it, I'm not posting that recipe. As a WARNING, most of the measurements are done in ounces, so you'll need a food scale to make this recipe. Also, I found most of the ingredients in the bins at Winco.


Homemade Granola Bars

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
• 1.5 oz raw sunflower seeds*
• 3 oz sliced almonds
• 1.5 oz wheat germ

Wet Ingredients:

• 6 oz honey
• 1 3/4 oz brown sugar
• 1 oz butter
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Other Ingredients:

• 6 oz of a variety of dried fruit (blueberries, cherries, apricots, raisins)

Directions:

1. Place all dry ingredients on a cookie sheet. Stir so all ingredients are mixed together. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine all wet ingredients. Stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Remove saucepan from heat and add dry ingredients and mix.
4. Chop all dried fruit and add to the mixture in the saucepan. Mix well.
5. Place in a well-greased 9x9 inch pan. Press very firmly and evenly into the pan.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes.
7. Allow to cool completely. Run a knife around the edges and turn the bars out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into bars.

Properly stored, these granola bars will last in the cupboard for 2-3 weeks.
*The recipe calls for unshelled sunflower seeds, but I would recommend that you use the shelled seeds (unless you like eating the shells).