Saturday Sweets: Granola Bars

Do you have a food that you just like best store bought?  A packaged-good-weakness you never plan to give up?

I have a couple.

1) Oreos.  Mind you, I haven’t tried these homemade Oreos yet…I’ll report back.

2) Wheat Thins.  Although I think I could challenge that with this recipe, but I know I won’t be stopping buying those crispy crackers anytime soon.

3) Granola Bars.  Until now.

I have tried a LOT of granola bar recipes.  If it’s a popular one, yup, I’ve tried it.

I haven’t shared any here for a reason, that reason being, they were all ok.  Ok, but not “I’m going to make these again” quality.  I have one peanut butter granola bar recipe that I love, and adapt often, but sometimes, you just don’t feel like peanut butter, you feel like eating a granola bar that tastes {almost} like it came from a Quaker box.

I have discovered several things that will NOT result in the kind of granola bar I’m looking for:

1) A “healthy” claim.  These granola bars are not UNhealthy, per se, but neither are they to be considered a breakfast food.

2) A “no bake” claim.  The texture is just different.  Not bad, just wrong.

3) Honey. Leave your honey alone when you’re making granola bars.

So, what DOES work?

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK!

Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!  I loooove sweetened condensed milk, always and forever. It should be my go-to answer anytime I can’t quite get a recipe right.  Sweetened condensed milk makes things the perfect texture and flavour, and I now know that includes granola bar things.  I officially have a go-to granola bar recipe.

This recipe is adapted from Esther Brody’s The 250 Best Brownies, Bars, & Squares, which I received to review.  As soon as I saw this recipe I headed to the kitchen thinking “Of COURSE! Sweetened condensed milk!”  I used what I had on hand and kept it simple, but you’re basically looking at a totally flexible recipe.  Use at least 3 cups of oats and make up the remainder with your favourite mix-ins: flax seeds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins…you get the idea!  But please tell me you won’t omit the chocolate chips.

These are a perfect snack to pack in a school lunch (peanut free!), or for anytime you consider snack time. If you have gluten free oats, and substitute the wheat germ for ground flax, you have a great gluten free treat too.  Like any homemade granola bar though, they don’t hold up well to being cut in long bars, so I definitely recommend the square route.

As for the rest of the book,  this is an extremely comprehensive collection of things that look delicious and don’t take a lot of time.  I like both of those things a lot.

I only wish there were more pictures.  I love eating food with my eyes, and this book is just recipe after recipe that sounds great but has no photographic evidence.  I guess I’ll have to go out blindly on a limb and produce my own photographic evidence, because Raspberry Oat Granola Bars and Coconut Dream Squares have me intrigued…along with 247 others!

Give these a try – or have you all figured out the sweetened condensed milk thing already?  I am still totally tickled pink.

*Adapted from The 250 Best Brownies, Bars & Squares by Esther Brody © 2013 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review.  I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and all opinions are, as always, my own.