Granola Bars! Forgot the sugar…

I would like to give you a great recipe but… I just threw together some stuff I had on hand. I used:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 3 cups quick oats
• 2 cups flour (1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup almond/coconut milk (it’s a mix that I bought on a whim- unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup marshmallow crème (yea, I was trying to keep it together)
• 1 can frozen apple juice, thawed
• 1 cup flax seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla

I didn’t write this down so am going by memory here. One cool thing about granola, it’s so easy to make and you can rarely mess it up. Of course, I forgot the sugar in this batch so it is a bit bland. The apple juice gives it a bit of …a sour taste? That’s how the kids described it. Also, I did drizzle honey on the top of it while it was baking to see if that’d help it stay together (and sweeten it).

I mixed all ‘dry’ ingredients together. Liquid and wet ingredients were mixed in a large glass measuring cup. Eventually, it was all just glopped together. I greased a cookie sheet (with coconut oil- that stuff can make anything non-stick!) and pressed down the ‘dough’. I cooked it at 275*F for 30 minute increments. I think after the second 30 minutes, I scored the bars. Just keep an eye on the color and also poke it every so often to feel how ‘done’ it’s getting.

Finally after 1 1/2 hours (or was it 2?) I was able to transfer the bars to a cooling rack. Here are two photos- one with flash, one without. Both are without “sugar”

I have another post on my blog with a better recipe –in my humble opinion –for granola, in case you’re interested.