Welcome to 2011, and welcome to New Year’s resolutions!! I try not to make too many, just so that I can be realistic, but one that I really want to try for this year is to try making more things at home – from scratch. It’s super easy to grab a box of granola bars off the store shelves so that you have something for the kids to snack on, but do you realize how easy they are to make at home? And it’s a lot more fun, because you get to control what flavors and combinations you want to try!
I saw this recipe, and I knew my days of putting of making granola bars at home had ended. I can’t believe how long it took me to try making these, because they are seriously so easy! In seriously less than 15 minutes of hands on time, I was done. Now I can’t stop my brain from thinking up all kinds of different flavor combinations I want to try!
Chewy Tropical Granola Bars
adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray December/January 2011
makes 12 bars
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 cups granola
1 cup rice cereal
1/2 cup chopped dried banana slices
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped cashews
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and orange peel. Bring to a boil, stirring over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the granola, rice cereal, bananas, pineapple, coconut and cashews. Transfer to a greased 9×11 inch baking dish and press into an even layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Cut into 12 bars.
they didn’t taste nice at all. i copied the recipe word for word but they looked disgusting,
I’m so sorry you didn’t like them. I guess everyone has different tastes.