Easy to make trail bars

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Call them a chewy granola bar or an energy bar, either way, these are good! They freeze well also (wrap them up two bars to a bag for an easy trail snack out of the freezer.
They are not super light, but weigh no more than normal Cliff type bars. And taste way better. They are also reasonably good in fiber and protein.
Note: I cut the slat in half and they still taste just fine (1/4 tsp)

Take:
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup craisins (or whatever dried fruit you like)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (or other nut of choice, unsalted)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper. It does not need any greasing. I fyou don’t line the pan, then DO lightly grease the pan.
3. In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, craisins,wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and pecans.
4. In a smaller bowl, thoroughly blend oil, honey, egg, and vanilla; pour into flour mixture, and mix by hand until the liquid is evenly distributed.
5. I use gloves for this.
6. Press evenly into the prepared baking pan. Make sure it is packed in tightly.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes in the oven or until the edges are golden.
8. Cool completely in pan before turning out onto a cutting board and cutting into bars.

Makes 12-16 bars.

Nutrition Facts
Calculated for 1 bars (84g)
Recipe makes 12 bars

Calories 349
Calories from Fat 127 (36%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 14.1g 21%
Saturated Fat 1.9g 9%
Polyunsat. Fat 8.0g
Monounsat. Fat 3.4g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 17mg 5%
Sodium 111mg 4%
Potassium 252mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 52.5g 17%
Dietary Fiber 3.0g 11%
Sugars 30.7g
Protein 5.9g 11%

[Kevin Pietriyk]

Thanks, Sarah! I’ve been contemplating homemade bars for a week or so, since I bought the boxes of Clif bars on clearance. Looking forward to playing with this recipe, like maybe changing up the spices and nuts for a different taste. I’d like to try to figure out one like a “peaches and cream” style. Maybe with dried apricots and some nonfat dry milk?

Guess I need to find some more people to eat all this stuff, because I know I can’t finish all that I make. Good thing they freeze well.

[Sam Haraldson]

Sarah –

I have a similar energy bar recipe but I appreciate that you added the nutrional stats to the bottom. That’s of the utmost importance in the recipes I’m currently planning. Thanks!

[Laurie Ann March]

A little trick that makes removing the bars easier – instead of turning them out just make your parchment a little bigger and they will lift out very easily.

For example: I make parchment for a 9 x 13 inch pan 9 x 20 (ish). The paper goes up the sides of the short ends and makes removal much simpler.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Kevin, I bet they’d be good with dried peaches chopped up and maybe some white chocolate chips.
On one of the other forums I visit, a guy has made two batches of the bars, both different each time. He noted they worked great with adding in whatever one liked.
For me, I love how they are not tooth breaking hard. The first time I made them I wondered if they were done, since they looked so soft, but they were perfect.

[Kevin Pietriyk]

I made my first batch of these last night, they're a huge hit in my house.

Will try freezing them today, will try it in a cut-down vacuum bag, I think I'll put a piece of parchment paper between them to keep them separate. I did get the white chips and some more dried fruit to try some other flavors. I buy craisins in 3-pound bags at Sam's now, I like them much better than raisins. Used almonds and sunflower seeds this batch, didn't have any pecans.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Craisins are my favorite. I haven't bought raisins in a year now ;-)

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