poor kashi

homemade granola bars. OMG. super delicious! there is literally no recipe for these, you throw in what you’ve got in the pantry and more importantly; what you like. i loosely followed ina garten’s recipe and agree with the reviewer comments: the bars fall apart. i would bitch, but i didn’t exactly follow her recipe. my honey was crystalized so i upped the brown sugar. my dried apricots were foul, so i added white chocolate chips. i will hone my recipe but until then, below is ina’s, you’ll notice, i used it as an outline. this takes less than 45 minutes total, don’t be a sidelines whore, go to your kitchen and do it. & don’t be sucked in with “healthy” or “nutritious” blarney. i seriously doubt that her recipe is either one, but homemade is better! no preservatives! these are so addictive, i don’t think you will be eating kashi mini hay bales again. (yeah, i wrote it)

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (i used 1 ½ cups plus ½ cup of breakfast grains)
1 cup sliced almonds (i didn’t use them)
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed ( i used ½ a cup & mine was shaved)
½ cup toasted wheat germ (my wheat germ was raw, i toasted it on the sheet pan with the oatmeal)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (i used salted)
⅔ cup honey (i used ½ a cup)
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed (i used ½ a cup)
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (omited due to salted butter)
½ cup chopped pitted dates (nah)
½ cup chopped dried apricots (nope)
½ cup dried cranberries ( i used 1 cup dried cherries plus ½ cup of white chocolate chips)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350˚. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300˚.
Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan (i used the metal mixing bowl that i combined all ingredients) and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture (i added the oatmeal mixture straight from the sheet pan to the bowl). Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. (right, who could wait 2-3 hours?)