I’ve had this recipe of Catherine Newman’s bookmarked for months. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite sources for recipes. Now that I finally got around to making her granola bars, I’m wondering why I waited so long. I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my taste and the contents of my pantry. Then I accidentally left out the vanilla and cooked the bars on the wrong temperature, but even with my mistakes they are so delicious I’m already planning my second batch.

It’s important to let these bars completely cool before cutting them, or you’ll end up with a pile of crumbly granola. Still delicious, but not remotely bar-like. Also, the original recipe called for chopped dates, but I didn’t have those so I added extra apricots and chocolate chips. You could use whatever dried fruits you like, and probably substitute other nuts for part or all of the almonds. I’m thinking sunflower seeds would do nicely. Don’t be scared by the wheat germ and ground flaxseed. I happened to have both on hand, but they’re available at most grocery stores in the baking aisle.

In her post, Catherine mentioned that she wraps individual bars in waxed or parchment paper, then sends them in her kids’ lunches. I liked the look of the wrapped bars, so I experimented a bit with that. I happened to have this scrap of sticker paper lying around, so I made a little label for one bar. The rest of them just got taped with scotch tape. Do you really think I’m crazy enough to make hand-written labels for two-dozen individually-wrapped homemade granola bars? Okay, I guess I am that crazy. I’ll probably do it next time.

Homemade Granola Bars
Adapted from Catherine Newman’s recipe

• 2 cups rolled oats (not instant or quick)
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I could only find sweetened, and it worked fine.)
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots (I had Annalie help me here, using clean scissors to cut each apricot into 5-6 pieces)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Heat the oven to 350 F and line an 8×12 baking pan with parchment or waxed paper. (You can use a jelly roll pan in a pinch, which is what I did.)

Mix the oats, almonds, and coconut together on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every few minutes, till lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the wheat germ and flax meal.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. Don’t be like me and forget this step, and then overcook your bars later.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then add the vanilla. Pour over the oat mixture and stir. Add the dried fruit and chocolate chips and mix well. Scrape into the parchment-papered pan, spreading it around evenly and pressing it flat with a spatula. (Because I used a 10×14 jelly roll pan, I shaped the mixture into a square, only covering about two-thirds of the pan. Otherwise they would have been the world’s thinnest granola bars. Next time I’ll probably just increase the recipe by half so it fills the whole pan.) To press the bar mixture more firmly in the pan, wet your clean hands and press away. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. If you do accidentally cook the bars at 350, they’ll be very done and medium brown at 20 minutes. Cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares or oblongs with a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container. Try not to eat them all at once.

I know, I need to announce the winners of the vanilla, plate and gift card. That’s coming soon, I promise!