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Raising the Bar
?Confessions of an Ingredient Snob: Granola Bars?  Take granola bars. I picked up an organic one the other day and checked out the label. I counted twenty (ouch!) ingredients, the first of which was sugar (and six more masquerading under some kind of syrup). Hello! How about the first ingredient should be oats? I have no problem with sugar, mind you, but with that much, they?re just candy bars moonlighting as granola bars. But you know what irks me the most? (Have you checked out yet?) The ?natural? perception. They can plop that word on any label and most people think that it must be health food. That said, I?m hopping down from my platform to tell you we're going to raise the bar (the granola bar, that is) and make our own! It?s easy! They?re delicious! Impressive! Convenient! And, yes, good for you. But don?t let the smooth taste fool ya! I?ve tucked a few chocolate morsels in there, a little peanut butter, too. You know, a nod to one of the great combos of all time without going over the top. Just the right amount of sweetness without getting crazy. Tons of dried fruit, almonds, wheat germ and, yes, oats. The perfect breakfast, on-the-go snack, tucked in a lunch box that you can hold in one hand earthy-crunchy goodness. And just for the record--no, I do not wear socks with sandals.  Homemade Granola Bars Makes about 10 bars 2 cups old-fashioned oats2 cups blanched, slivered almonds1/2 cup toasted wheat germ1/2 cup chocolate chips1-1/2 cups mixed dried fruit*1/2 cup honey1/4 cup peanut butter1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon kosher salt1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon almond extract*I used dried blueberries, cherries and golden raisins Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9-x-13 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Toss the oats and almonds together on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the toasted wheat germ with the chocolate and dried fruit. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, peanut butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Bring to just shy of a boil over medium heat; remove from the heat, add in the extracts and stir until smooth. Add the toasted oats and almonds to the bowl and toss well. Slowly pour in the honey mixture over the granola and stir to coat evenly. Scrape out the mixture onto the prepared pan. With wet fingertips, tightly press the mixture to compact as much as possible, completely filling the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let the granola cool on a wire rack until firm, about 3 hours, before cutting into bars or squares.?from the Picture-Perfect kitchen: Planning: This is another dream team recipe that plays really well with others. You can swap out different dried fruits (chop the bigger fruits into small pieces) or nuts, omit the chocolate...whatever floats your boat. Customize at will! You can store the granola bars in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week but mine never make it past the second day. Product Purity: Dark chocolate provides good antioxidants (if you need an excuse). I'm still on my Valrhona chocolate kick. Smart Balance creamy peanut butter is my staple-it does not contain high fructose corn syrup and is delicious. And, as always, use pure vanilla and almond extracts, like Nielsen-Massey (my fave). Presentation: These bars are perfect party favors, bake sale superstars, hostess gifts that will elicit future invites. Wrap them in glassine bags tied with ribbons or stacked in a pretty lidded glass jar (you can find inexpensive ones at stores like World Market, Target and Wal-Mart). After school, with a cup of coffee or with cocktails, put them on a plate and watch them disappear. ©2010 Hutchstone, LLC 
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