Here's a homemade granola recipe from Mark Bittman.
Time: 1 1/2 hours, largely unattended
1/2 cup almond butter or other nut butter such as peanut butter
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup, agave nectar)
1 cup crispy brown rice cereal
1 cup granola
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for greasing.
1. Put almond butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until they melt together; whisk to combine.
2. Put the crisp brown rice cereal, granola, almonds, apricots and salt in a bowl and add the mixture of almond butter and honey; stir well to combine.
3. Grease a 7- or 8-inch square baking dish with a little oil and line it with plastic wrap. Spread the granola mixture evenly into the dish, pressing down gently, and cover with more plastic wrap; refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. Once set, remove by lifting the edges of the plastic wrap out of the dish; peel off the plastic and cut the bars to any size you like.
Yield: 16 to 20 granola bars.
GRANOLA is one of those foods that is assumed to be inherently good for you, so logic suggests that granola bars are, too. Sadly, that is not necessarily the case: if you’ve ever looked at the label on a granola bar, you know it can contain anything from corn syrup and corn flour to chocolate chips and added coloring. Nothing that will make you sick (at least not immediately), but not exactly health food.
Enter the homemade granola bar, a combination of granola, almonds, apricots and crisp brown rice that, like granola itself, is wide open to interpretation as long as you keep the ratio of glue (the almond butter and honey mixture) to granola and mix-ins about the same.
The “secret” is the mixture of almond butter (or any nut butter you like; peanut works well, and walnut is beautiful, too) and honey (again, maple syrup will work, as will agave nectar). You toss the granola and other add-ins with this mixture, then simply press it all into a prepared baking dish. “Prepared” in this case means oiling the dish, then lining it with plastic wrap; this allows you to lift the granola bars out of the pan once they’re set.
Let the mixture set in the refrigerator for an hour; it will firm up and become easy to cut into whatever shape you like. These bars are more chewy than crunchy, and have way more flavor than store-bought versions. And less is more — without the ingredients you don’t need, they’re definitely a step or two closer to healthy.
