Chewy Turkish Apricot Raisin Almond Granola Bars
Photo: greg.turner
On Tuesday, Atticus woke up and said, “What snack are you bringing to school for my friends today?” Snack? What snack? Shit! I had totally forgotten that I was on snack duty this week. But obviously, this was a big deal for my little man since these were the first words out of his mouth—even before he asked if he could watch “Go, Diego, Go.” And nothing is more important in the morning than his daily allotment of Diego.
Unfortunately, it was 7. I had to get him to school by 9. The dogs needed to be fed and walked. And I had a conference call at 9:30. I could have done what many parents do and hit the store for juice boxes, pretzels, cookies, or a little bag of why-are-they-never-sweet baby carrots. But I wanted to stand by our ChowMama philosophy and prove that it’s possible make something delicious with whatever is on hand in as much time as it takes to shop for some prepared junk food. And that’s how I landed on these Chewy Turkish Apricot Raisin Granola Bars.
This recipe is super easy to make. It calls for 2 family-kitchen staples: oatmeal and peanut butter. It makes the most of whatever dried fruit and/or nuts you have on hand. And it takes very little prep time—just make sure you leave enough time for baking (which happened to be the amount of time we needed to get ready and get out the door).
Chewy Turkish Apricot Raisin Almond Granola Bars
(for kids 12+ months)
2 cups organic old-fashioned whole oats
1 cup organic raisins
1 cup organic dried turkish apricots, chopped
2 cups organic almonds, sliced or chopped
3/4 cup organic vegetable oil
2 cups organic honey (or cane sugar or brown sugar)
2 cups organic peanut butter (or almond butter)
2 tsp organic cinnamon
1/2 tsp organic nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
4 egg whites
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Line a 9X13 baking dish with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, dried fruits, and almonds.
4. In a medium saucepan, heat oil, honey, peanut butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water over low heat, whisking occassionally, until the mixture is thoroughly combined, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and whisk in egg whites.
6. Add liquids to oat mixture, stir to combine, and spread evenly in the prepared baking dish.
7. Bake about 35-40 minutes until the top is set and firm. Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes, and then lift the parchment and granola out of the dish and cool completely. Cut into bars with a serrated knife.
Tips: This makes a great snack, breakfast, on-the-go handheld, perfect lunch box ingredient, or (with whole milk yogurt or even ice cream) a healthy dessert.
12 Responses to “Chewy Turkish Apricot Raisin Almond Granola Bars”
May 29th, 2009 saat: 8:56 am
[...] see the post below this for today’s Chewy Turkish Apricot Raisin Almond Granola [...]
May 29th, 2009 saat: 1:48 pm
my son’s pre-school is nut free. do you have any suggestions for substitutions for the peanut butter?
May 29th, 2009 saat: 2:45 pm
my first choice would be sunflower seed butter—i think the flavor would be amazing. especially since i sometime use sunflower seeds in this recipe. let us know how it turns out!
May 29th, 2009 saat: 3:26 pm
LOVE THIS RECIPE!
June 2nd, 2009 saat: 7:44 pm
I plan to make these bars often. Thanks for the recipe!
June 3rd, 2009 saat: 7:30 am
You’re welcome. I just got the weekly school newsletter and I (and these granola bars) got a special mention. (What? You hear something? Oh, yeah, that’s me—patting myself on the back. Wink!) They’re addictive. Enjoy!
June 8th, 2009 saat: 1:05 pm
I’ve already made two batches of these since you posted this recipe, michelle. delicious!
the first time, i didn’t have egg whites. i went ahead and made this anyway (with sweet potato–more on that in a min) and it worked fine. not great for presenting to others, as it doesn’t hold together, and less cakey, but delicious for home. we ate in clumps, over ice cream, and over fruit.
both times, i improvised with the fruits and nuts, and also added mashed sweet potato. i simply microwaved a few fingerling sweet potatoes, peeled, mashed (roughly; without anything added), and whisked into the syrup, once off the heat. small clumps remain–but totally work. so, my second batch with Sweet Potato, Hazelnut, Cranberry Granola. YUUMMM.
last note: i cut the sugar by quite a bit in my last batch and though it isn’t quite as delectable to this sweet tooth mama, isaac didn’t seem to notice and i feel better having it around as an all the time kind of treat (vs a sometimes kind of treat).
this is totally a new staple in our house! thanks!
June 8th, 2009 saat: 1:26 pm
i’m glad you like them, stacie. i know you’re a tough one to please! and really great point about the cutting the sugar and adding the sweet potato. i was making these as a sometimes treat. but with this tip, i’d feel comfortable having them around all the time. and think i’ll go make some right now!
June 10th, 2009 saat: 11:37 pm
Hi Chowmama! I just made this recipe and I think I might have done something wrong? The granola bars are really mushy! Any suggestions on how to make them chewy…Mind you, they are still warm. They have great flavor however. I can”t wait till they cool down.
June 11th, 2009 saat: 11:35 am
hi jeanne:
lots of people have used this recipe and so far it seems to work for everyone. i’d let them cool all the way so they set up before cutting them with a serrated knife. hopefully that will take care of it.
the only other thing i can think to ask is did you def use slow-cook oats? i tried making these at my parents house this weekend with quick-cook oats (it was all they had) and they were mushy too—we used it as a crumble on yogurt for breakfast because they wouldn’t hold together.
June 11th, 2009 saat: 12:50 pm
Ahhh, i think you pinpointed where I went wrong. I was using the rolled oats (the kind that takes 5 minutes to cook) not the steel cut oats( the kind that takes 45 minutes to cook)! OOPS! I am just going to pop the granola back into the oven to crisp it up a bit. Thanks for such a great website!
June 11th, 2009 saat: 1:23 pm
aha! who knew the answer would be so easy?!
Comment