Breakfast To-Go, Granola Bars

Making granola at home, like Meeta says, is not only fun, but unbelievably easy. You can perfectly tailor it to suit your palette. And, best of all, its quite healthy. No funny sounding ingredients in here.

Taking this to the next level, I make granola into bars. They are handy, equally tasty and doesn’t require cold milk to go along, on a chilly morning. A perfect companion for your morning cuppa’ joe. When it comes to bars, Alton Brown’s recipe is my favorite. Its simple, satisfying, flavorsome and flexible. I have made these many times substituting original ingredients with what I had on hand; and it has turned great every single time.

Ingredients

Rolled oats – 2 cups
Raw sunflower seeds – ½ cup
Sliced or slivered almonds – 1 cup
Wheat germ or oat bran – ½ cup
Honey or agave nectar – ½ cup
Brown sugar or jaggery – ¼ cup
Butter – 1 ½ tbsp
Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Dried fruits (apricots, blue berries, goji berries, prunes, raisins, cranberries) – 1 cup

Method

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x9 glass baking dish. Mix oats, sun flower seeds, almonds, wheat germ on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, mixing once in between. Meanwhile, in a pan, heat butter, brown sugar, vanilla and honey together. After the sugar has dissolved, let the mixture bubble up for a minute. Add oat mixture to jaggery and mix it all together. Transfer the mixture to the greased glass dish and press down evenly with the back of a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes. When cooled, cut into 16 squares.

Granols Bars

This is my second entry to Mansi’s WBB – Balanced Breakfasts, an event started by Nandita of Saffron Trail.

37 comments:

Mansi said...

these look perfect Sugs! and I love Alton Brown too, as much as his recipe:) thanks so much for 2 winning entries girl:)

evolvingtastes said...

Sounds and looks excellent! I hope to try these out soon.

BitterSweet said...

I adore granola bars and love Alton Brown's show, so these must be wonderful! The pictures make them seem delicious, that's for sure. :)

Kalai said...

I've tried this recipe, too, with good success. The bars look delectable, Suganya! :)

musical said...

Very crunchy looking bars! Not just a great breakfast, but an all time yummy snack as well :).

amna said...

granola bars are too healthy for me.. hehe..

KonkaniBlogger said...

That looks really good. U beat the the store-bought ones. Great entry!!

Namratha said...

I totally second you on liking Alton's recipe for these bars, after I saw the episode where this recipe was featured I've been really tempted to make them...you aren't making it any easier :D Love those bars!!

Kalva said...

wow great one.. never ever made cereal bars.. nice

Jayashree said...

Not a big fan of granola bars despite knowing that they are healthy.....but yours look crunchy and perfect!!!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Yup granola bars are really the next step. I love making them for soeren. Now only if I could get my hands on goji berries!! Otherwise our bars are quite similar. Oh and you have to try it with roasted grated coconut - a dream!

Srivalli said...

wow..that picture looks chic and classic...

Nupur said...

They look very tasty, Suganya. Do you store them at room temp in an airtight container or in the fridge? How long do they stay fresh? I'm asking because I would love to ship these in gifts if possible. Thank you!

indosungod said...

Look great, crunchy and yummy.

FH said...

My daughter eats one everyday, never made then at home though. Looks great, see you in May Suganya, hugs!:)

Laavanya said...

The bars look crunchy and great.

Pooja said...

Wonderful entry Sugunya :) .
Balanced it is for sure,

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Tasty yummy !! will try it .. nice & interesting recipe

Lucy said...

What a great way to begin the day.

Lovely, as always.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Ooh, I'd like a couple to bring as snacks in the car. They look so healthful and deliciously chewy.

test it comm said...

Those granola bars look good.

Raaga said...

they look perfect... I must see if I get rolled oats here... have only seen porridge oats :-)

Finla said...

Looks delicious. I have never made something like this, should try them

Johanna GGG said...

granola bars are always in my must-do list - yours look so lovely it makes me think they need to get nearer the top - and I love your photo - the blue just looks so like a fresh bright morning!

Priya said...

I just have to make some of these Suganya. I cannot get my self to wake up 5 mins early in the morning so I have time for the boring bowl of cereals. And store bought granola bars have soo much fat content in them and do get monotonous after a while. Do you buy the dried fruit in individual packs or is there a brand that has a mix ??

Suganya said...

Nupur, These bars stay fresh w/o refrigeration for about 10 days. I don't store them in air-tight container (may be I should). But I double wrap the baking dish with foil and let it sit on the counter. I guess, it would be alright if you ship these, which is exactly what I was thinking too. But pls do make sure that you pack them well. These bars are not as strong as the store-bought ones. You can try making these with corn syrup for extra stickiness. But why spoil the goodness :)

Priya, I buy individual packs of dried berries and currants for my oatmeal. But my grocery store carries various mixed dried fruits, which includes pineapple, pear, apricots and prunes. Experiment with what you like, none of these hurt the recipe. But pls make sure the dried fruits are unsulphured.

ServesYouRight said...

They look lovely!! Suganya - do you make Vegan biscotti? My (favorite) cousin is vegan and I never know what vegan cookies to make for her.

Smita

Suganya said...

Smita, I have never made vegan biscotti, but vegan cookies. But this recipe looks good.

Cynthia said...

Maybe if I lived closer, you could make me breakfast? :)

Anonymous said...

I love this recipe!!

hello, goodbye from Canada, Québec!!

bee said...

yes, alton brown is the ebst. his recipes are quite customisable

sandhya said...

the bars looks fabulous... even i had tried this once.... your pics r tempting me to make these again...

Anonymous said...

Kale, couscous and granola! It's awful healthy around here :):)

Everything looks delicious, Suganya. I am even tempted to try a recipe with oats, now :)

eatme_delicious said...

Ooo these look great! I've made my own granola many times but only tried to make my own granola bars once, and it didn't work out so well. I'm saving this recipe!

Anonymous said...

Suganya,I love these. Looks very delicious.

Unknown said...

The recipe sounds so simple..Am trying them for sure..thanks for sharing

Anonymous said...

Suganya, I tried this recipe yesterday. The taste is absolutely delicious, but I had a problem with getting the bars to hold together. After baking, the granola mixture was still quite crumbly. It was probably because I did not measure out the honey precisely and may have added less than 1/2 cup.
Have you ever had this problem with the bars falling apart? Thank you for sharing this...it is delicious!

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