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Chewy Granola Bars loaded with Oats, Dried Fruits and Nuts
October 2nd, 2009 Madhuram Posted in Bars, Food Blog Events, Kid's Baking | 
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Before proceeding with the chewy granola bar recipe I would like to thank Anjali Damerla of Supreme Spice for coming forward to sponsor the prizes for the winners of Whole Wheat Baking Event. She has gladly agreed to send Tea Masala Extract, Garlic Extract, Garam Masala Extract and Kesar Milk Extract for Sadhana and Muskaan. I have myself used the Tea Masala extract and Kesar Milk Extract and we all love it in our family. Tea masala is my favorite because it refreshes you instantly. I have also used that extract while baking this Vegan Christmas Fruitcake.
For long time now I have wanted to bake granola bars. It’s going to be almost a year and a half since I started this blog but I don’t have a single recipe here for granola bars. I have collected/bookmarked a lot of recipes but did not bake one until now. Since I’m conducting the Whole Grain – Oats event, I felt this is my chance to give it a shot. I was browsing through Esther Brody’s 250 Best Bars and Squares book and this recipe caught my immediate attention, because it was simple to bake and also had room for a lot of changes, to suit our taste.
Also this recipe is a good one if you want to start involving your kids in baking and to get them pitch more in the kitchen. My son has shown interest in baking for sometime now and once I read the recipe I immediately recognized that he would love to help me. So off we set with a mixing bowl and spatula to bake these simple and chewy granola bars.
These bars are quite healthy too but for the use of condensed milk. If portion control is maintained this can very well be a grab and go breakfast or an after school snack or dessert in my son’s case.
Yield: 16 squares or 8 bars
2 In a large bowl mix together oats, cranberries, seeds, nuts and chocolate chips.
3 Add condensed milk and mix thoroughly. Also stir in the oil and applesauce until blended.
4 Spread evenly in prepared pan. Use a spatula to smoothen it. If you feel that the oats sticks to the spatula, grease it with cooking spray and smooth it out.
5 Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until top is lightly browned. I felt mine was not done after 25 minutes so gave it another 6 minutes. By then it had browned a little.
6 Place the pan on a rack to cool slightly, then carefully lift the foil and place it on the wire rack. When it is cool completely cut it into bars. You can either go for the usual rectangular shaped bars (like the store bought ones) or squares. I cut them into squares to cut the calorie intake. Dipping the knife in hot water will enable easy cutting.
This recipe is a good basic recipe where you can play with the combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruits of your choice.
2 The other change I made was using slivered almonds instead of chopped peanuts. Again here too you can use the nuts of your choice.
3 The recipe had called for 1 can condensed milk (14oz/398ml). Since I live in Canada now, I found that the Eagle Brand condensed milk I get here was only 300 ml. So I used 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce to make good the difference. Also it required 1/2 cup of melted butter/margarine. I decided to use 1/4 cup of canola oil and 1/4 cup of applesauce instead. After measuring 1/4 cup applesauce I found that I had only another 1/4 cup left in the jar, so I stirred in that too. So totally 1 cup unsweetened applesauce.
I think this is the reason the bars took extra time while baking and also for the chewiness. So adjust the baking time according to the ingredients you use.
4 In recipes like these (bars) and few other recipes where chocolate chips is used in large quantity, I replace it with 1/2 the quantity of mini chips. So I used 1/2 cup of mini chips instead of the 1 cup of regular chips mentioned in the original recipe.
These chewy granola bars go to my Wholegrain Baking Event – Oats.
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October 20th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Mmmm, they sure look delicious! I’m going to make a batch with my kids today!! Thanks for sharing!
October 18th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
These look amazing – I’m off to buy more oats as it turns out I’m almost out!! I’m going to try lite coconut milk instead of condensed milk – the fat in the coconut milk is so healthy and I just love the flavours it adds to baking. I’ll let you know if it works!
That’s a good idea, but you will have to do something for the sweetness. Do let me know after trying it Anne.
October 8th, 2009 at 6:29 am
the bars look delicious i want to try it rightaway. can u tell me a method of peeling the sunflower seeds or it needs to be done one by one
Meera, I used the shelled sunflower seeds which is already ready to eat.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I saw this recipe and IMMEDIATELY made them.
They are cooling on the counter right now and I can’t wait to eat them!
Thanks a bunch!
You’re welcome Danielle and thanks to you too for trying it out.
October 5th, 2009 at 3:22 am
These look incredibly healthy. You’ve captured the crunchy textured and the fruit laden bars perfectly.:) Plus I have to say I love the way you’ve organised and divided the recipe into three sectional tabs. Brilliant.
Welcome to my blog Shwetha and thanks.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:15 am
This is definitely worth trying…They look moist and chewy and that is exactly what a granola bar must be for me!!!
October 4th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Dear madhu , how are you.. the bars look lovely as usual.. somehow I havent been able to make them either … I will try with my homemade granola the next time . Hugs !
I’m fine Dee. I’ve sort of become very lazy. Have been meaning to call you, hopefully tomorrow afternoon for you.