Question: how do I make granola/snack bars?[

[Purple]

Makes sense.

[Broomstick]

P.S. Let me know how the household likes my bars.

Right now I'm scouting out ingredients.

We just had a Whole Foods open up in our area, and while they tend to be on the higher side price-wise it's definitely a place I can find the ingredients I want/need with a comprehensive list of ingredients in anything even slightly processed (like, for example, nutbutters). I'll also have to make a substitution for Grape-Nuts (contain one of my allergy foods, barley) as well as the peanut butter. (Food allergies suck.) So they won't be exactly your bars, but rather inspired by them.

[Broomstick]

Round two on the first recipe:

I made a trip to the new Whole Foods store in my area. For those not familiar with the chain, it's an upscale grocery specializing in organic, non-GMO, and "whole" foods. A little more expensive (sometimes a lot more) than the discount stores I usually shop at, but you can get things there you can't elsewhere and I don't have to pay shipping costs for ordering over the internet. They also have instructions on how to use/cook various items, and if you want to know where your meat and fish come from they'll tell you.

1/4 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup millet
1/2 cup amaranth
1 cup oat flakes
1 cup crispy rice
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup almond cashew butter
2 tablespoons chia seeds
Cinnamon sprinkled on top of the mix in the pan

These came out softer than the first batch, so I wound up toasting them in the oven for about 15 minutes, which helped. Also, I don't think I compacted them as much in the pan (my bad). They certainly taste good, though, and are still "bars" rather than loose granola.

[Isolder74]

Looks like it turned out pretty good. Most sites, and me, recomend the pizza cutter because even the thinnest knife is going to get stuck cutting these out. If they turn out a bit crumbly that usually means the grains are soaking up just a bit more of the 'glue' so just ajust the nut butter up a bit more and it should work out more perfect.

As far as de-crystalizing honey the best way to do it is to place the jar in a saucepan full of water and slowly simmer until it all melts. This is slower then using the microwave but will end up with it staying smooth much longer when you are done.

[Broomstick]

I remember doing the honey that way as a kid, but the honey was in a plastic jar this time (not in glass like when I was a kid) so I was concerned about that over a stove even in a water bath, and anyway, I just needed it liquid enough to get it out of the jar. Heating it up with the almond butter was going to finish decrystallizing it anyway.

So far the husband, landlord, and family flock of parrots approve of the taste.

[Isolder74]

Unless the honey jar is super cheap it shouldn't melt in a water bath.

[Broomstick]

Remember, I've been living on food stamps for much of the past few years, some of the stuff I buy IS really cheap!

Anyhow - tried a new bar recipe, this one requiring baking. One of the things that intrigued me was that it didn't require gooey, sugary syrup.

2 large, very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 cup pitted, chopped dried dates
1/4 cup chopped nuts — such as walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans
Grated nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9-x9-inch square baking dish with oil.

Peel the bananas and mash their flesh in a medium mixing bowl. Mash very thoroughly until no large chunks remain; the bananas should be essentially liquid. (You will have between 1 cup and 1 1/4 cup.) Stir in the vanilla, if using. Add the oats and stir them in. Stir in the salt, dates, and nuts.

Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. If desired, sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to crisp up. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool.

Came out pretty good - sort of like banana muffins in flavor. I expect these won't last very long, either. Somewhat chewy in texture, not as sweet as a lot of these bars but still quite tasty. Since bananas are cheap around here this might become a regular feature in our household.

[Elheru Aran]

Unless the honey jar is super cheap it shouldn't melt in a water bath.

It'll probably get pretty soft, though. Goes without saying, use a towel or something to handle it.

...this thread is making me hungry.

[Isolder74]

Unless the honey jar is super cheap it shouldn't melt in a water bath.

It'll probably get pretty soft, though. Goes without saying, use a towel or something to handle it.

…this thread is making me hungry.

I'm sorry about that. Threads I comment on about this type of stuff usually do. Stay away from my cake posts if you have real problems with that. Man it's been forever since I've had time to make a real cake….

edit: Looks like that recipe Broom uses bananas as the glue. Works if you like bananas but does limit you customization a bit. Any homemade bar will kick the tail of any store bought one.

[Broomstick]

And... it looks like I "poisoned" myself in my own kitchen.

Seems I am allergic to something in batch I made with amaranth, millet, and chia seeds - my money is on the chia seeds, since I've been eating the other two in commercially made bars with no problem lately. Well, that was a miserable several hours of gut cramp, pounding headache, and itching.

>sigh<

Yes, that one recipe uses the bananas as glue, with the advantage that it's got a lot less sugar than some of the other recipes. The spouse said "these aren't as sweet". No, they're not, but I noticed he still ate them

A lot of the commercial bars use puffed grain, and I like the texture and mouth feel of those. Homemade bars tend to be a lot denser. I've looked into how to puff grain at home, and it all starts to look like blacksmithing projects. Not terribly practical at this point for me. Hence, the use of puffed rice. I think I might up the proportion of that to oats.

Going to try another version of the no-bake today, trying to keep it simple.

[Broomstick]

OK, most recent batch was

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cashew butter
1.5 cups rolled oats
1.5 cups crispy rice
sprinkle of cinnamon on top

Flavor and texture-wise, this is my favorite batch so far. However, they are also crumbly. I'm thinking the puffed rice has a greater surface area than the oats, or something, and needs a bit more glue next time.