Fruit & Nuts Granola Bar

These bars are a great snack to stuff in your lunchbox, curb your mid-afternoon craving, or send overseas. They are full of nutrition and a great source of protein and fiber!

Now I have never toasted nuts before, and I found that when you do they add a bit of an earthy taste to your recipe. The bars were delicious, but I wasn't a big fan of the toasted nuts. I felt that they over powered the other flavors. If I were to do this recipe again, I would omit the toasting and just add the raw nuts. Of course I didn't read the recipe close enough (like usual) and I used the wrong pan, giving the bars the wrong texture and size. It didn't ruin them, but I'm sure they would have tasted differently if I did what the recipe had asked for. That goes to show you that reading the recipe over and over again before you start is VERY important. :)

That peanut butter is the best I have ever had! I go through jars so fast. Better 'N Peanut Butter from Trader Joe's. Go and buy a jar now...Go!

Toasting the nuts. You can skip this step if you don't want a strong nut flavor, but if you like it by all means, go right ahead! Here is the link I followed, great tips: How To Toast Nuts by My Baking Addiction

Here they are ready for the mail! I wrapped each bar individually then placed them all in a large freezer bag. It takes a week when I ship boxes and they were in good condition when they got to my soldier. 

Fruit & Nuts Granola Bar
Chiriji


Ingredients: 
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup flour (all purpose, whole wheat...any kind of flour works)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2 cups toasted nuts (I used almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Other options: pepitas, sunflower seeds...etc)
2 cups dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, but you may use as many flavors as you wish; raisins, shredded coconut, dried apricots...etc)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup light corn syrup (I didn't have corn syrup so I substituted the equal amount of honey to LCS)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients and microwave for 30-50 seconds until very runny. (My wet ingredients were already very runny so I did not need to microwave my wet ingredients)
3. Pour the warmed honey mixture over dry ingredients and mix until it is evenly crumbly. Spread and press down firmly into a large 11x17 in parchment lined pan, or multiple small pans that will yield 1/2 inch bars. *
4. For soft and chewy bars, bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes. If you like your granola bars on the crunchy side, bake for 30-40 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Rotate the pan half way through to ensure even baking. Let cook to cool temperature before cutting into bars. 

*My mistake: For some reason I thought I had to use a 11x7 dish, not a 11x17in pan. So my bars were much thicker than what the recipe called for. They were still very good. I cooked them for 30 minutes and they were nice and chewy. 

Makes 36 bars.

Nutrition: Calories 144; Fat 7g; Carb 18g; Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 4g; Fiber 3g