Homemade Granola Bars

I always enjoy a good granola bar.

They make a great mid morning snack at work. I have seen lots of recipes for homemade granola bars lately so I thought I would give them a try.
They turned out really good.
Super tasty and it is nice to know you aren't getting a bunch of fillers and preservatives etc.

I forgot to to take a picture of all the ingredients individually but you will get the idea.

In a large bowl combine,
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slices almonds

In a sauce pan combine,
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (the original recipe called for all natural but I used regular Kraft it was fine!)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1tbsp water
Whisk over medium low heat until all the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Let the mixture cool a little bit then whisk in 1 egg white.

Pour the warm mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat.
Spread evenly in the bottom of an 8 inch square pan, that has been lined with 2 crisscrossed rectangles of parchment paper. Be sure to really press the mixture in firmly. I didn't so my finished bars were a bit crumbly. Tasty none the less.
Place in a preheated 300 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the top is firm. Again be sure to bake them long enough. I was afraid to burn them and probably took them out 5 or so minutes early, again led to crumbly bars.
Let the bars cool 10 minutes in the pan, then use the paper sling to lift them out and cool completely on a rack.
Cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Make sure to use the parchment paper! you will never get them out of the pan if you don't!

If you are looking for a super tasty granola bar, give these a try. You could sub almond butter for the peanut butter if you wanted. Also you could use any dried fruit or nut you wanted, try a few different combo's! I want to try dried cherries, dark chocolate chunks!

Jen