Hit the Trail Bars

Yesterday was my first attempt at homemade granola bars. I actually can’t believe I haven’t made these before or even tried: they’re so easy and healthy. Maybe I should stick to these instead of spending money on Lara Bars all the time? Next on my list should be attempted homemade Lara Bars actually…I think those are doable.

Anyway, my mother-in-law saved this recipe for me and I think she found it in a Martha Stewart magazine. Only good things out of Martha Stewart :). There were 2 recipes for two different types of bars: one granola and one protein. I honestly think the protein bar would be better but I was missing a few ingredients so I’ll try them another time.

Hit the Trail Granola Bars

(adapted from Martha Stewart’s magazine)

• 2 cups of whole rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
• 2 tbsp of honey
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (you could use whatever kind you’d like)
• 1/2 cup chopped, dried apricots
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• oil to coat the baking dish

All you do is mix everything together then dump it into a greased pan. The recipe suggested you use a 9×13 pan but honestly, I think that was too big. The bars turned out okay, but they were a little thin. So, I would recommend a smaller pan if you have one.

I have to admit, I wasn’t in love with how much sugar (honey, brown sugar) and butter was added, but I followed the directions anyway. If I try them again, maybe I’ll attempt less sugar. I thought about using something in place of the butter but I’m sure the butter helps hold everything together.

I cooked the bars for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

These turned out delicious. Like I said, I wish I put them in a smaller pan so they were thicker, but they still tasted great!

Pretty yummy! I liked that you can essentially add whatever you’d like to these too. The original recipe called for shredded coconut and peanuts but I didn’t have any so I added apricots and almonds.

We’re going to go snow shoeing today (the upside of a downfall of snow?) so I’ll take a few with us. I’m supposed to run today but I’m going to snow shoe instead, it’ll be a nice change!

 

Do you make your own granola or protein bars? Any good recipe recommendations?