I am not a person to eat breakfast religiously each day. It seems like a waste of time to me. I would prefer to eat pancakes, french toast, cereal and all those good things for dinner. The only thing I eat is the grab and go cereal or granola bars. They are small enough to disappear in a few big bites. Or they can be large enough to nibble away slowly while you read the morning newspaper. Best of all, they are healthful snacks too. My favorite is Nature Valley Granola bars but they may be a little too sweet for some people.
With some time to kill and a half empty jar of Trader Joe's Almond butter, I decided to make some granola bar and this recipe from the Almonds are in website helped.
TOASTED ALMOND GRANOLA BARS
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/3 cups quick oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds, roasted
1/2 cup diced dates
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preparation:
I did not have applesauce. So I pressure-cooked diced apples with a little sugar, small amount of water and a stick of cinnamon. I pureed it up with an immersion blender and I had applesauce in 15 min. So that is another pressure-cooker trick for you all, if you are considering investing in one. My daughter enjoyed it as well.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together egg, honey, cooled applesauce, almond butter, brown sugar, and extract in a large mixing bowl. The original recipe called for flax seeds but I used some wheat germ instead. I am sure you can just use oats instead.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Press firmly into a greased 13- by 9- by 2-inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.
The recipe does not state anything about baking any further. But the bars were still quite soft and little wet. So after cutting them as desired, I gave them the biscotti treatment. I turned them over and baked them for 15 min or so until slightly colored and dry to touch. This recipe makes about 36 squares.
What a neat recipe, I am going to make it soon. The only thing I don't have in my pantry is wheat germ. Giant Eagle carries this, Mika?
ReplyDeleteHi Indira- GE carries it in its organic section. Since I substituted it for flax seeds, I am sure you can use another 1/4 cup of oats itself. Let me know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteMika, I love your idea of making applesauce in a pressure cooker! :)Gotta try that 'cos applesauce is not available here in the UK. Not that I've seen, anyway.
ReplyDeleteNice recipe, my husband is a big fan of granola bars. Will try this.
ReplyDeleteSounds yum. I am in Oman (Middle east) where I don't get almond butter. Will need to imrpvise there.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the besan question on the thepla recipe on Lavannya's blog LuvBites, Besan is almost always added. If the dough became sticky you must have added too much, roughly you can consider adding 1 spoon besan for 3-4 spoons atta.
Most Gujjus also add fresh methi leaves and a spoon or two of curds.
The curds is supposed to make the thepla softer - a big help if you are putting theplas in a lunch box.
It is for the same reason some Gujjus omit the besan - said to make the thepla some what brittle and chewy - a no-no of you are packing it for a picky toddlers lunch box!
hi mika, those look totally delicious...the perfect breakfast treat...thanks fo the recipe...
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe, Mika. I think it was a great idea to give them the "biscotti treatment" to crunch them up a bit. Yum.
ReplyDeleteMika that sounds so good! I love almond butter too, but I think I might try this recipe with the peanut butter I have in my pantry right now. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
ReplyDelete