this week i am making complementary posts on HACSI and GBaB. they seemed mutually relevant but not quite the same, so i decided to keep up both blogs this week.
i have been wanting to make smitten kitchen’s chewy granola bar recipe for a while now, and after last week’s disappointment of how annoying it is to not be able to eat my breakfast before i get to work, this seemed like a good time to try something so portable.
i have some good news: i actually followed the recipe. well, pretty much. and you know why? this supports s’s oppositional defiant disorder diagnosis for me, but because she said i didn’t have to follow the recipe, it meant that i mostly chose to.
and! it made them turn out so beautiful!
the only things i did that you can’t find from the way-clearer-than-anything-i-would-write recipe at sk are:
- for mix-ins, i used chopped cashews, chopped dried cherries and apples, dried cranberries, and golden raisins.
- for my nut butter, i used almond, because i was making them also for someone who doesn’t like peanut butter.
- i used brown sugar and honey for my sweeteners, and with the brown sugar, i used the bottom of the range (.5 cups).
- i skipped the optional vanilla extract, but mostly because i forgot it, not because my obsessive love for vanilla has faded.
- i did use the corn syrup, because we had some. i think it probably helped.
- i cooked for the minimum amount of time, though our oven runs about 25 degrees warm, and the granola bars were browner than i would have liked–so i would say check them at about 25 minutes, just in case.
- the bars were a little crispier than i would have liked–but, out of habit, i put them in the freezer, and they are perfectly chewy once defrosted! i don’t know what that means for you, but, you know, point of interest.
- want to know how i melted the butter easily (with no microwave and no pot)? check out my HACSI post about it!
- breakfasts made: 5 large bars–but also 5 more for my housemate, and 16 smaller bars for a potluck and some new-parent friends!
- time spent: 45 minutes, including baking but not including cooling time.
- total cost: free!
xoxox
love
eliz.
EATING MY FIRST GRANOLA BAR FOR BREAKFAST AND OMG IT’S SO GOOD!!!! Thank you so much for making me breakfasts this week! <3 <3 <3
(Also, didn't you add pepitas too?)
yes! i forgot! i did add pepitas at the end!
i want to make these! and also, i’m glad you’re giving GBaB at least one more week
although i did like your post on HACSI, i’m very loyal and have trouble switching.
thank you! and you should totally make them. they are so easy and SO DELICIOUS.