alliekatgal

It's frickin cold here, so what better way to warm up than to bake?  I found this recipe in the back of one of my cookbooks last week.  Handwritten, so no idea where it came from. 

I make these as gluten-free bars, using sweet rice flour and gluten-free rice cereal.  I know some people who avoid gluten don't eat oatmeal, but I also have a friend with Celiac Disease who does eat oatmeal, but at least for me they are gluten free!

Granola Bars

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups crisp rice cereal
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1 cup dried fruit bits

Heat oven to 350.
Melt butter.  Remove from heat.  Add ingredients in order, mixing after each addition.  Pat into 9x13 baking pan.
Bake 20 minutes.  Cool in pan 1 hour.

I have used a mix of raisins and dried pineapple for the fruit, and they were really good.  Sweet, and a bit chewy where the pineapple was.  Today I am trying butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and raisins.   I open the oven after ten minutes and use the back of a spatula to compress the bars because I wanted them to be dense  bars. 

Overcook them if you want them really crisp, like packaged bars.  I cooked the first batch for 30 minutes, which I thought was perfect.  I'll try 20 minutes today, which I think will make a moister, chewy bar.   Either way, they are yummy.  :)