Whatever You Want Chewy Granola Bars

Good afternoon, citizens of the Internet! It has been a while since I have shared any tasty treats with you and for my excuses, please look out the nearest window where you will certainly see excessive amounts of sunshine.  Step outside and notice that the excessive sunshine brings with it copious amounts of heat, intensified by the microscopic water particles suspended in the air.  In short:  it's hot.  And this is why it has taken me so long to bring you a new and delightful from-scratch recipe.  I couldn't take the heat, so I got out of the kitchen. 

But I'm back! And at the request of my cousin Jenny, I present homemade granola bars! Guaranteed not to heat up your kitchen too much, and also to fill you up with plenty of protein and fiber and all that stuff that's good for you, but also taste good enough that you want to eat it. 

So, I'll be frank with you, I love granola.  I think maybe in a past life, I was a horse. Or a hippie.  Either way, granola is awesome. It's a great snack, and there are so many options.  And a lot of times, store bought granola is usually pretty wholesome, without too many weird chemicals and fillers and things, but I still run into problems finding the right flavor combinations.  I'm not generally a picky person, but there are a few things that I just really don't like.  And unfortunately for me, two of my least favorite things are two of the most common granola ingredients:  raisins and peanuts.  What, you like those things? Well, guess what! There are probably millions of combinations and swaps you can do with this granola recipe and you can put in all the abominations ingredients you like.  

When Jenny asked me to do a granola recipe, (and after I got over how hot it was outside) I had to figure out what I wanted in the granola.  To do this, I channeled my inner hippie (I do these things so you don't have to; but if you want to, they were a lot of fun, so be my guest!) and I did some yoga and  then did some painting.  The closest I got to recreational drugs, though, was when my Pandora station  played Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, but I totally jammed out.  Then I whipped up this awesome chewy granola, making note of things that could easily be swapped out.

So let me explain these ingredients a little bit.  What makes these specifically "Whatever You Want" granola bars is the versatility.  If you don't like dried cranberries, use raisins or dried blueberries, or a combination, or another dried fruit.  If you don't like almond butter, use peanut butter or cashew butter.  If you don't like chocolate chips, leave them out or swap them for white chocolate or butterscotch chips.  Pecans not your style? Use almonds or cashews or peanuts or walnuts or... you get the picture. If you're worried about the sweetness/sugar, I've used agave nectar which is supposed to be better for blood sugar levels than regular sugar, but I also used honey with it.  Or try molasses for a stronger flavor.  So what's in these granola bars? Whatever you want. 

This is literally the hardest part of the granola bars, and it's not hard.  Toast the coconut (assuming you decided you wanted it, because, let's face it, coconut is awesome, but somewhat controversial).  Rather than heating up the oven (and, in turn, your kitchen), pour the coconut in a dry skillet and give it a stir over medium heat for a couple of minutes, or until it is brown and smells like a tropical resort. 

You may also choose to toast whatever nuts you are including in your granola. This gets the same method. I haven't tried toasting the oats, but I could see that being awesome as well.  It really just depends on how warm you want to risk the kitchen getting.  When you're satisfied with the toasting, put your ingredients (aside from the white chocolate chips) into a mixing bowl. 

See how easy this is? Then stir it all up until there aren't clumps of anything anymore. If you happen to want your granola crumbly instead of in bars, just spread it out on parchment paper at this time and let it dry a little.  You also could stick it in the oven on low heat for a few minutes (but beware of melting any chocolate you already added). 

Next, line a 9x9 inch pan with foil (or parchment paper) and pour the granola mixture into it. Spread it into the corners with a spatula and try to make sure it's pretty well packed together.  Then, cover it with another layer of foil (or parchment or plastic wrap or whatever) and stick another pan on top of it. Press down, and then find a way to weigh down the top pan, compressing the granola.  The longer and harder you compress the granola, the better the bars will keep their shape. If you aren't worried about them crumbling, then you don't have to worry too much about pressing them.  If, however, you plan on feeding them to your children in the backseat of the car on a road trip, I would make sure they're pretty well compressed. 

Don't be afraid to get creative with this.  You'll see here that I used my tea kettle, full of water, to weigh down my top pan.  After several hours of this, I stuck the pans (sans kettle) into the refrigerator over night. Cooling also helps everything stick together. If you have the room, I recommend putting your pressing contraption in the fridge. I didn't, so I just made do like this, and they held up pretty well.  You also could freeze them, I suppose, but I think that would make the next step a little more difficult.

After you're satisfied with how long your granola bars have been pressed and chilled, turn them out onto a cutting board, remove whatever liner you used (foil, etc.), and cut them into bars. I recommend a large knife and cutting into eighths.  However, these are pretty big bars, so if you want to cut them smaller, that is fine too.  

Now, these are, in my opinion, sufficiently sweet. If, however, you want to make them a little prettier, or sweeten them a little more, or even just give them a little extra backbone, then the white chocolate is for you!  

If you're just going for decoration, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so. When they're smooth, spoon the sweet, white mess into a piping bag, or a plastic bag with the tip cut off, and drizzle away.  

If you're hoping to help prevent crumblage, though, I recommend melting the chips in a pan on the stove top.  When they're smooth, dip the bars into the white chocolate, coating the bottom, and place on wax paper to cool and harden. 

Yum! Look at all that granola goodness! And, with the almond butter, pecans, and oats, these granola bars will keep your tummy from rumbling before lunchtime rolls around.  

But what if they crumble? Well, that's okay too.  Sprinkle the crumbles on some yogurt, and you're good to go!

Whatever You Want Chewy Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup dried cranberries (*may substitute raisins)

1/4 cup dried blueberries (*may substitute other dried fruit)

1/3 cup shredded coconut, toasted

1/2 cup pecans, toasted (*may substitute other nuts)

1 Tablespoon chia seeds 

1/2 cup almond butter (*may substitute peanut or other nut butter)

1/3 cup agave nectar

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, optional

Toast coconut in a skillet over medium heat, stirring regularly, until fragrant and lightly browned.  Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except for white chocolate chips, and stir until thoroughly mixed.  

Line a 9x9 inch square pan with aluminum foil and pour granola mixture into pan.  Cover with additional foil or plastic wrap and press. Place another 9x9 inch pan on top of the granola and weigh it down, allowing granola to be compressed for at least 2 hours, or overnight.  For best results, refrigerate.  When granola has set up, turn out onto a cutting board and cut into 8 bars.  

Melt white chocolate chips in microwave, stirring after each 30 second interval.  When white chocolate chips are smooth, drizzle over granola bars.