Today’s post has nothing to do with bread or toast although they are one of my favourite things to eat. I was flipping through many of my recent cookbook purchases and it seems the cookbook is not complete until there is a granola bar recipe. I never really warm up to granola bars because they are more like candies with very chewy flakes of oats and over-abundance of dried fruit and nuts. The true taste of whole grain always gets lost in the shuffle and I’m left with the urge to floss. However, if there’s one author who can change my preconception, that’s got to be Kim Boyce and her cookbook Good To The Grain.
Boyce’s recipe for Granola Bar caught my attention by its restraint and unusual method. Instead of a long list of ingredients that reads like the inventory of a well-stocked pantry, we have the bulk and the glue. For the bulk, there are buttery toasted rolled oats, ground flaxseed, and chopped raisins. For the glue, there are honey, dark brown sugar, and molasses. A simple touch of cinnamon and salt completes the picture. The taste of oats gets to play starring role in these granola bars and Boyce brought out their flavour by quickly toasting the raw oats in butter over the stove. This extra step is key to why I enjoy these granola bars so much.
My adaptation stays close to the original spirit of the recipe. Ground flaxseeds are replaced with toasted wheat germ. A handful of millets is added for a nice contrast of texture. I absolutely adore these little pellets of crunch. Chopped prune stands in for raisins. These bars are chewy yet not tough. They embrace the flavour of whole grain rather than masking it with fruit and nuts. The honey, brown sugar, and molasses glue holds everything snugly without being too assertive. This is my kind of granola bar that I don’t mind snacking with a cup of coffee.
Granola Bar With Millet & Prune
adapted from Kim Boyce’s Good To The Grain
makes 12 servings
Ingredients
- 55g unsalted butter
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp toasted wheat germ
- 1/4 cup millet
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup prunes
- 170g mild flavour honey
- 50g dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Method
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line a 9-inch square cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add in rolled oats and stir to coat the oats with butter. Gently toast over medium heat for about 6 minutes until the oats take on a bit of colour and smell sweet. Empty into a large mixing bowl.
- Toss in 1/2 cup wheat germ, millet, and cinnamon with the oats. Coat the prunes with remaining 1 tbsp wheat germ and chop to small pieces. Add to mixing bowl to combine with oat mixture. Set aside.
- Using the same pot that you used to toast the oats, combine honey, brown sugar, molasses, and salt. Heat over medium heat until it comes to boil, about 6 minutes. Pour into mixing bowl to combine with the oat mixture immediately.
- With a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon, evenly coat the oats with honey until you have a ball of sticky mass. Tip into prepared baking pan. Flatten and pack tightly.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the edge begins to brown. The granola bar will be soft out of the oven but hardens up as it cools to room temperature. Cut into 12 bars when it is completely cooled.
- Store in air tight container for up to 3 days.