Peanut Butter Energy Bars

I have what is popularly known as a Busy Schedule. Do you? Of course you do. We all do. And if we weren’t busy we wouldn’t need schedules.

As a way to remain at least somewhat faithful to my Busy Schedule, I rely heavily on individually packaged store-bought granola bars. Now, I’m a homemade girl when it comes to, well, as much as I can, and it has always disturbed me to buy so many granola bars. They rarely let me down, though. They taste good and carry me to the next meal, and, to be honest, I’m really not that concerned about their lack of completely pure healthfulness. A change of habit in this regard has been hard to perform.

There are probably 700 or so homemade granola bar recipes out there, so it was hard to know where to begin, especially when it’s hard to compete with the convenience of simply opening a little package. I do love these and I used to make them more often, but they require me to have granola on hand, which doesn’t always happen (even though I love this granola recipe and this one and this one…curse you Busy Schedule!). They also require powdered milk, which I don’t really use for anything else regularly.

And so one day, this Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Energy Bar recipe drifted to the top of my monstrosity of a recipe pile. It really looked easy and it really looked delicious and it really looked like I had all the ingredients on hand and therefore no excuse to put off trying it any longer.

 

 

This is an absolutely delicious and extremely simple homemade replacement for the industrially derived granola bar. There’s a simple list of ingredients and they all go together in a fashion compatible with the average Busy Schedule. They are energy dense, and therefore not really a weight-loss food, but unlike with a prepackaged bar, you can easily cut these into smaller portions.

 

 

The solid stuff of these bars is a combination of oats and crisp rice cereal along with some raisins (you could use other dried fruit) and almonds (you could use other nuts). This is all held together by a mixture of peanut butter (you could use another nut butter) and honey flavored with a bit of both vanilla and almond extracts. And by the way, almond extract, which I think has great power anyway, is fabulous in peanut butter treats. I added it to go with the almonds, but it’s a delicious flavor enhancement for the peanut butter as well.

These granola bar replacements are quite chewy but they’re less dense and crispier than many chewy store-bought bars. That, I suppose, is thanks to the crispy rice cereal. They’re best stored in the refrigerator to keep them from getting too soft, but if you take a little time to individually wrap them, they can be just as grab-and-go from the refrigerator as from the cupboard.

 

And I do suggest you should grab and go with these Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Energy Bars. They’re just so good! Delicious. Easy. Just so good!

 

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Energy Bars

Adapted from Cuisine at Home magazine

2 cups rolled oats
½ cup raw almonds
1 cup crispy rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies)
1/3 cup raisins
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread the oats and almonds out on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Set aside to cool.

2. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray or spread it with oil or butter. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cooled oats and almonds, crispy rice cereal, raisins and salt. Set aside.

4. Combine the peanut butter and honey in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat and stir until the peanut butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

5. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture. Stir until well coated. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared 8-inch pan. Chill until firm. Cut into bars and wrap individually for convenience if desired. Keep refrigerated.

 

Makes 9 bars (or cut them smaller for lower calorie snacks).

Other recipes like this one: Almond Butter Granola Bars, Peanut Butter Granola

One year ago: Zucchini Multigrain Coffee Cake

 

...And Such

“Do more than one fun thing a day!” - Marjorie Ketcher


I just finished reading an inspirational book titled Wild Dogs, a Naked Man, and Such by Marjorie Ketcher and Jim Ehle. Jim is a friend of mine, and I’m glad we’re pals, because it’s likely I never would have learned of this story on my own. It’s subtitled Inspiration for Reluctant Adventurers, and is about Marjorie’s solo (solo!) ride across North America on Old Blue, her trusty bicycle. It’s a little book, but it’s a big story full of more guts than glory, and I don’t think I’m giving too much away by telling you that the most important part of it all is the “Such.”

Whether you’re a hard-core adventurer (reluctant or otherwise) or just an armchair wannabe (like me - I don’t even own a bike), you probably can understand the thrill of tackling a personal goal. And you’re going to need fuel to get through it all. I like these Almond Butter Granola Bars that I adapted from a recipe in Bruce Weinstein’s The Ultimate Candy Book. They’re dense and chewy and full of vitamins, complex carbohydrates and protein with a little high-glycemic-index kick. I think they’d be good on the road, but they’re also good to grab with your morning coffee if you’re a little slow to get started (like me).

If you’re a reluctant cook, these bars are also easy to make, requiring very little cooking. I made the Granola for mine, but you can use whatever granola you like. I also made the almond butter, which simply involved coarsely chopping and very lightly toasting some almonds and pulverizing them in the food processor until they turned to butter. I added a very small amount almond oil (about 1 teaspoon to about 2 cups of almonds), which seemed to help the almonds adventure on to a spreadable stage less reluctantly. You could certainly buy your almond butter, or use peanut butter or another nut butter.

If you use a glass or metal dish or pan to make these bars, be sure to grease it well and/or line it with parchment or wax paper. I use a flexible silicone baking pan (8” x 8”) and they never stick to it. (I spray it with a little nonstick cooking spray for insurance.) I don’t think I’ve ever actually baked anything in this pan, so I don’t know how it performs in the oven, but for sticky recipes like this one (also homemade caramels, etc.), it does reliably well. I’m thinking of naming it Old Blue in honor of Marjorie’s bicycle.

I know these granola bars are good because I make them pretty regularly and usually eat most of them myself. I know Marjorie and Jim’s story and philosophy are inspirational because I’ve already began to think of many “journeys” I’ve been reluctant to begin. And I started shopping for a bike today. I don’t know where things might go from here (although I could do without wild dogs or a naked man), but I do know it will be such and adventure!

Almond Butter Granola Bars
Adapted from The Ultimate Candy Book by Bruce Weinstein

You could replace the almond butter with peanut butter and the almond extract with vanilla.

Vegetable or canola oil or nonstick cooking spray plus parchment or wax paper for the pan
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
¾ cup almond butter
½ cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ cups granola

1. Coat an 8” x 8” baking pan (or a smaller one) with vegetable oil or cooking spray. If you are using a glass or metal pan, you may also want to line it with parchment or wax paper. Coat the paper with oil or spray as well.

2. Place the corn syrup and brown sugar into a medium sized saucepan. Heat over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook at a boil for 30 seconds.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond butter and the powdered milk until the mixture is smooth. Add the almond extract and the granola and stir until well combined.



4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and carefully press the mixture into an even layer. It will be quite stiff and still quite hot. To make thicker bars, do not press the mixture all the way to the edge of the pan. It will be stiff enough to hold its shape. (Here is where a slightly smaller pan might work well.)

5. Cool on a wire rack, then chill until the bars are firm enough to cut. Cut into 12 bars. Individually wrap the bars and store in an airtight container or zip-top bag in the refrigerator. The bars are very stiff and can be hard to chew when cold, so remove them from the refrigerator for a while before enjoying.

Makes 12 servings. These bars freeze very well.