Tasty Treat! Granola

A few weekends ago, I was watching Barefoot Contessa and she was making granola bars. They looked so easy to make and really tasty. So, right after the show was over (a Saturday afternoon), I went to the store, picked up the ingredients and made my own. Wow, it was easy and they were so good! I've made three different batches so far and I can't decide which I like the best. The first were with apricots, second with blueberries and the third with chocolate chips. I've shared them with my family and friends at work. They are all asking for the recipe so here it is...from Barefoot Contessa. :-)

GRANOLA BARS
Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates*
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots*
1/2 cup dried cranberries*

*These items I substituted with 1/2 cup fruit or chocolate. I think anymore than 1/2 cup will be too much for the amount of granola.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8x12-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well. Pour the mixture into the prepared 8x12-inch pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Here's pics of the latest chocolate chip batch that I made.

Oatmeal, coconut, almond mixture before baking.


Liquid mixture...the honey, brown sugar and vanilla smells so good!

Oatmeal, coconut, almond mixture after browning.

I chopped up 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips.

The finished yummy product! This makes approx 40-45 1" x 1" sized granola bars.

This last batch came out pretty tasty. It was a tad sweeter because of the chocolate chips on top. However, I think if I use semi-sweet chips next time and mix them into the granola mixture, it would be less sweet. I was afraid that the chocolate chips would melt into the granola, so I chopped them up and sprinkled them on top prior to baking. After the baking, I took the granola out of the oven only to find that the chocolate didn't melt at all. So, the next batch I make, I'm going to just mix in the chocolate chips with the granola.

Enjoy!!!