Peanut-Butter Granola Bars

stingo's Note:

If you're tired of the commercial granola bars, give this one a try. The manager at the gym I go to recommended this recipe and a friend was kind enough to make a batch for me. Delicious. (Original source appears to be a magazine, though I don't know which one.)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 large egg white
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup natural-style peanut butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with two criss-crossed rectangles of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang at opposite ends.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds and cranberries.
4. In a small saucepan, whisk together oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, cinnamon, salt and water over low heat until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
5. Let cool slightly; whisk in egg white.
6. Pour over oat mixture; stir until moistened.
7. Spread evenly in bottom of pan; smooth top.
8. Bake until top is firm, about 30 minutes. Note: The firm top is your best indicator that it's ready - if it's too soft the granola will be crumbly, if it's too hard it will be too brittle.
9. Let cool 10 minutes.
10. Lift out of pan, using paper as handles.
11. Let cool completely, cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Reviews

[Cookgirl]

I was not expecting to like this (I really don't care for granola bars and never have). But I was surprised by not only how easy this was but how good it tasted. They are more like a gooey bar cookie and not overly sweet. I added a bunch of different nuts/seeds including cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds, etc.; dried cranberries and raisins. Half of the homemade peanut butter was replaced with tahini and I really liked the flavor of those two in this recipe. Reviewed for Adopt a Veg.

[Lalaloula]

WOW, these bars are sooooo tasty! They were gone super quickly in our house as everyone raved about them and couldnt stop eating them. I used home-made tahini in place of the peanut butter as I cant have peanuts and it worked out nicely. The sesame seeds from the tahini added a more earthy taste, but I liked that. Instead of almonds I added sunflower seeds, but other than that stuck to your recipe. The bars stuck together nicely, but I did have to bake them in a smaller pan so that they were really chunky. The cinnamon and oats paired very well and the cranberries were a lovely fruity addition. I will certainly make these tasty treats again! THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing another keeper with us, stingo! Made and reviewed for my chosen chef during Veggie Swap #22 May 2010.

[Elmotoo]

Mine came out more like a big cookie than granola bars. Delicious, fast & easy, though, so who cares? Made (very late) for Veggie Swap 3/10.