Cherry Almond Granola Bars

Hello all, sorry for the lack of posts. This summer has been the craziest. Buying a new house, training for a triathlon and a marathon. Thank goodness the tri is done and the marathon will be done soon. Wow, I can't wait till it is over. On to better things....food. I have always wanted to make granola bars. I make granola all the time, so how hard could bars be? Well they are not hard at all. I love the idea of knowing exactly what is in my granola bars.

1 2/3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oats - crush in blender or food processor
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 maple syrup
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper, line it so you have extra hang over both sides, this will allow you to get the bars out of the pan a little more easily. Rub a little butter on the parchment paper and the edge of the pan.

Mix together all of the dry ingredients including the nuts and fruits.

In a separate bowl mix together the peanut butter, vanilla, butter, maple syrup, corn syrup and water. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry.


Once it is all combined press it into the pan. You may want to use a small piece of parchment paper to help press it into the pan.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes. I like mine to be a little brown around the edges and a little brown on the top. Let the bars cool for at least an hour. They can be crumbly so I placed mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I cut them into bars. Store them in a sealed container.

I promise to be back to my blogging this month! I am actually very excited to start cooking more cool weather dishes....stews, squash and soups!