day four hundred and ninety-six

recipe number eleven: almond honey power bars! (#59)

about a month ago my mom visited me for a weekend in seattle, and she brought with her a sample one of these that my stepdad made. i thought it was pretty tasty, especially considering how healthy it is compared to other granola type snacks. so, i got the recipe and gave it a shot. some of the ingredients were pretty expensive, so i made some modifications based on some alternatives i already had and how much money i felt like spending overall.

ingredients:

• one cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• one-fourth cup slivered almonds
• one-fourth cup sunflower seeds
• one tablespoon flaxseeds, preferably golden (i could only find the dark brown kind)
• one tablespoon sesame seeds
• one cup unsweetened whole-grain puffed cereal (kashi makes one)
• one-third cup golden raisins (i used regular since i already had 'em)
• one-third cup dried apricots (i substituted dried cranberries)
• one-third cup currants (yeah, didn't include bother looking for those)
• one-fourth cup creamy almond butter
• one-fourth cup turbinado sugar (i used brown sugar)
• one-fourth cup honey*
• one-half teaspoon vanilla extract
• one-eighth teaspoon salt (i didn't do this, because the sunflower seeds i bought were salted)

directions:

• preheat oven to three hundred and fifty degrees.
• coat an eight-inch square pan with cooking spray.
• spread the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and sesame seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet. bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, shaking the pan halfway through (about ten minutes**). transfer to a large bowl and add the cereal, currants, apricots (or cranberries) and raisins. toss to combine.
• combine the almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan. heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly (two to five minutes).
• immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until no dry spots remain. transfer to the prepared pan. lightly coat your hands with cooking spray and press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer (this is easier if you wait for it to cool first). refrigerate until firm, about thirty minutes. then cut and serve!

*the first batch came out pretty dry and crumbly, so i doubled the honey to one-half cup the second time around and the consistency turned out perfectly.

**the first batch also came out with a weird burny aftertaste. for take two i cut the baking time in half. still, weirdly, a little off? but much tastier.