Granola on the Go

So before we left for our Derby adventure, I stocked up on snacks for the road. We packed sandwiches, sodas, Sobe Life Waters, chips, Gardetto snacks, yogurt-covered pretzels, Swedish Fish, Snickers ... the works. Had we been stranded somewhere on 294, we would have been set for a while. But it turns out the drive wasn't as long as we originally anticipated (and we didn't end up stranded), so I didn't need such a complete stock. As usual, I went overboard.

We could have done without a lot of the stuff I packed, but one of the snacks I would not have given up was my homemade granola bars. I came across this recipe hidden in a pile of pages I had pulled from magazines, and I was super excited to make it. It made a huge pan that I've been munching from for more than a week now.

Granola-to-Go Bars
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped almonds
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Combine oats and almonds in a 15x10x1-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, honey and vanilla. Stir in the sunflower kernels, coconut, raisins, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in oat mixture.

Press into same baking dish you used to toast the oats and almonds (coated again with cooking spray). Bake at 350 for 13-18 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.


I have to admit that I ended up re-baking these because I pulled them out of the oven too soon the first time. The edges were browning quickly, and I assumed they were set in the middle. But I should have known better (considering my huge failures in judging when brownies are set in the middle).

Luckily, I had no problem once I put them back in the oven (on the top rack to prevent the bottom from burning). They're a bit tough to cut into bars because they end up crumbling, but they still taste amazing. And the chewy chunks of granola that you pick out of the bottom of the pan are way better than any bar anyway!