Granola Bars

I tried these from Prathibha's "The Chef and her Kitchen" They were absolutely yummy and we were like "yeh dil maange more" Thanks Prathibha. I will be making this more often.

A step by step procedure to make granola bars with measurements can be found at her site here: Granola Bars

Rewriting her recipe here for my reference:

Ingredients:

(Yields around 18 big bars)

2 cups quick cooking Oats

1/2 cup cornflakes cereal

1 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon powder

3 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp water



dry fruits and nuts:(This comes around 1-1/4 cup)

12-15 almonds,finely chopped

12-15 walnuts,finely chopped (did not use)

10-12 pistachios,finely chopped

2-3 tbsp raisins

2-3 tbsp dried cranberries

5-6 seedless Arab dates,finely chopped

3-4 dried figs/anjeer,finely chopped

1 tbsp watermelon seeds(did not use)

2 tbsp flax seeds (did not use)


1 tsp sesame seeds (did not use)


Method:

1.Dry roast oats and cornflakes separately until a nice aroma comes and oats starts slightly browning up,take care not to burn them while frying.Keep them aside.
2.Now dry roast flax seeds until they pop and followed by sesame seeds and add them to the oats mixture.
3.Add almonds,walnuts and pistachios to the pan and roast them until they are slight crisp and then add watermelon seeds,chopped dates,figs,raisins,cranberries and fry them for a minute and add them to the oats mixture.
4.Mix everything well and keep the vessel aside.
5. Heat the same pan and add butter and let it melt.Now add brown sugar to it and let ir caramelize a bit and bubbles form.
6.Add water,honey,peanut butter and cinnamon powder and heat the mixture until it starts bubbling up.
7.Add vanilla essence and give a quick stir.
8.Now add the roasted oats, cornflakes,nuts and dry fruit mixture and mix well until the honey mixture is coated uniformly all over the oats cornflakes mixture.Let it cook for 2 mins and keep stirring it in between.
9.Divide the mixture into two portions and transfer the mixture on to a baking sheet or a butter paper and spread it using a spoon or a wooden ladle to 1/2 inch thickness.
10.Straighten the edges with the help of a spatula into a square or rectangle and let it cool a bit.Smoother the top portion using hands or a butter paper and gently make it uniform.

This is how it looked when we transferred it to a plate for cutting into squares. I did not have butter paper, so just poured it into a big plate.

11.Allow them to cool for 5-10 mins and then cut them into bars.If it does not hold shape just press the sides with hands to form the clean edges.
12.Arrange them on a aluminum foil on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven @ 160 degrees for 4-5 mins.This step is completely optional and you can avoid it if you do not have oven.I do this way which helps in holding its shape and can be stored for longer.Let them cool completely for 30 mins.
13Wrap them in aluminum foil and store them in airtight container.

We enjoyed every bite of these chewy granola bars.