Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Challenge #1 - Chewy Granola Bars. Take 1 - Results


Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/3 cup butter (I used salted butter)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
dash of salt

Directions:
(1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
(2) Cut the 1/3 cup of butter, that is still in stick form in half. Place the one half in a 9x13" pan and melt.
(3) Once butter is melted spread the oats on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5minutes. Bake until pale gold.
(4) Remove the oats from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Transfer the baked oats to a large bowl.
(5) In a small saucepan combine the remaining butter, honey, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Stir frequently, until the mixture just reaches a boil.
(6) Pour sugar mixture into the bowl with the oats and mix well. Add anything extra you want (chocolate chips, etc.)
(7) Line a 8x8" baking pan with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture into the pan, then pack tightly into an even layer using a wet spatula.
(8) Bake until golden brown - about 30 minutes.
(9) Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then cut into 2x3" bars. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Thoughts:
(1) These are all the ingredients from the original recipe. However, I added alittle more salt to compliment the sweetness and also added cinnamon as a personal preference.
(2) I increased the butter for two reasons the first to help toast the oats with and the second to help make a good syrup.
(3) Did toasting the oats help produce a crunchy yet chewy granola bar?
(4) Did making a syrup help increase the chewiness of this recipe?
(5) More honey? More brown sugar? What's the right ratio?
Results:
(1) Not that chewy. If you like the crunchiness of the Nature Valley granola bars than this would be the one for you.
(2) The bars held their shape and are not too crumbly. I mean it's a granola bar - there are going to be crumbs.
(3) The flavor was good. Roasting the oats before hand is a keeper.
(4) How do I increase the chewiness? Dare I say corn syrup?!
(5) Bake to the drawing board.

4 comments:

  1. To increase chewy-ness I was going to say oil...as much as I hate to even think about it. What would happen if you used coconut oil? It's super healthy! Would that help with the chewy factor?

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  2. Thanks Julie!!! I also wanted to say I added goji berries (don't know how to spell these weird things) into ours and it was good. Also, I'm looking forward to hearing how to make them more chewy . . because that's what i really want. I agree-the taste is pretty good. We had them as snacks for about a week. Can't wait to see what you come up with!! :)

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  3. I know that most of the chewy granola bars in the stores have corn syrup in them. Perhaps a simple syrup would suffice? hmmmmm.

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  4. i will have to try this one - i personally love the crunchy ones - so not a total loss from my point of view ;)

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