Granola Bars

Pin It

Granola Bars

Adapted from SmittenKitchen

 

I wanted some granola bars that didn't taste like chocolate bars, and I'm so happy I found this recipe on SmittenKitchen. It tastes like hearty breakfast in a bar, and they leave me feeling much better about my morning snack! I pull them out of the freezer in the morning, and they're thawed by my 10am morning coffee/snack break.

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup sliced raw almonds
• 1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup agave nectar (if you can't find, use more honey)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cup dried fruit, I used chopped apricots, cranberries and raisins
• 1/3 cup small chocolate chips (chipettes)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine oatmeal, coconut, almonds and wheat germ and pour onto baking sheet. Toast in oven, stirring periodically for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove and place in large bowl. Reduce oven to 300 degrees.
3. While mixture is warm, stir in honey, agave nectar, vanilla bean paste and salt. Stir until well coated and then stir in dried fruit and chocolate chips.
4. Pour mixture into a 9x13" pan, greased and lined with parchment paper and press down as hard as you can, all over. I used a rubber spatula on its side to push with my fist. 
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 2-3 hours before removing from pan and cutting. I cut into bars and freeze in snack size bags!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Pin It Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These are the best Oatmeal cookies ever. They're soft and chewy and can be infinitely altered. I added chocolate chips to these ones, but dried cranberries, white chocolate, walnuts or raisins would be great options as well.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Mix in chocolate chips.
3. Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.