granola bars.

a coworker introduced me to king arthur flour's granola bar recipe last month, and i am loving it. these bars make the perfect mid-day snack and each batch can be different based on what fruits/nuts/treats you throw in. they are super easy. i don't have sticky bun sugar so i have just been mixing up 3/4 c sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon maple syrup and they hold together okay. I omit the 1/3 cup sugar in the recipe then. I also just process oats for the oat flour, and that works fine. Make a batch and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons Sticky Bun Sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, optional
• 1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup quick oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
• 2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• *So far I've used various combinations of dried cranberries, raisins, chopped pecans, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, chocolate chips and coconut. All delicious.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

1) Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, syrup or honey, and water.

3) Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly.

4) Spread in the prepared pan, shaking the pan to evenly cover the bottom and patting down gently

5) Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're golden brown around the edges.

6) Remove them from the oven, loosen the edges, and cool for 5 minutes.

7) Use a knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars while they're still warm in the pan. Carefully remove warm bars from the pan, and cool on a rack. Alternatively, remove from the pan before cutting into bars; it helps to cut in half first, then loosen the bottom of each half with a turner/spatula before turning out onto a sheet of parchment to cut into bars.

8) Wrap bars individually to store; or place in a single layer on a plate, and cover with plastic; or store in layers with parchment in between. In humid weather, it's best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.