Author Notes: My friend Sara is a great cook, and she’s forever amazing me with her deftness at making something transcendent out of a few simple ingredients. She doesn’t tend to favor elaborate, cloying desserts — more than once she’s ended a dinner party with a plate of her homemade “granola bars.” They’re chewy and rich, a jumble of nuts, cereal, seeds and dried fruit barely held together with almond butter and honey (no baking involved). She’s not shy with the salt, which I think really sets these bars apart. Last week, she shared the recipe with me, and now I’m sharing it with you. These are great to have around, as a dessert or a snack. —Merrill Stubbs
Makes: about 30 2-inch bars
Ingredients
-
1 1/2
cups old fashioned rolled oats
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1
cup raw sunflower seeds
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1
cup raw sliced almonds
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1
cup raw pumpkin seeds
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3
cups brown rice crispies (you can substitute regular rice crispies or puffed rice)
-
1
cup dried apricots, sliced thinly
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1
cup dried cranberries
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1
cup almond butter
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1
cup honey
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1
tablespoon sea salt
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2
teaspoons cinnamon
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds. (Sara recommends toasting them all separately because of different burn rates — I found that the pumpkin seeds took the least amount of time, at 7 minutes, and the sunflower seeds the most, at about 15 minutes.)
- When all the items are sufficiently toasted, toss them with the brown rice crispies, sliced apricot and cranberries in a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat the almond butter and honey just to get melty, not cooked. (This is your glue and if it boils or even comes close, it gets hard and yucky.) Stir in the salt and cinnamon, then pour over the oat and nut mixture and stir. You want to get everything incorporated and ‘glued’ together without crushing the tender crispies.
- Turn into a 9×13 baking dish lined with parchment and press the mixture evenly and firmly — again, try not crush the crispies too much. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Cut into 2-inch squares before serving.
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Everything's all laid out — just reading Sara's notes one more time.
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Sara wisely suggests toasting the almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and oats separately, as they brown at different speeds.
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You just want them lightly browned.
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Almond butter makes these bars rich and chewy — just make sure to stir it up well before you use it.
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Dried apricot, dried cranberries and puffed rice (which I used because I couldn't find brown rice crispies).
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Mixing the honey and the almond butter, which will be the "glue" that holds everything else together.
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You want to warm the honey and almond butter just until it loosens up a little — make sure not to let it get too hot, or it will harden up.
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In go a big spoonful of both cinnamon and salt.
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It helps to mix together all the dry ingredients before you add the "glue."
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Folding everything together — careful not crush the puffed rice!
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The mixture is sticky, so make sure to line your pan with parchment paper.
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I pressed everything into the pan with my hands so that it wouldn't fall apart once it was cut.
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After a few hours in the fridge, it firms up, and you can cut it into squares.
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