Cranberry, Almond and Toasted Coconut Granola Bars

Last time I made granola bars on the blog I was mostly worried about getting the kids to eat them, which means lots of chocolate was involved. Recently I've been looking for more snacks for myself to eat. Snacks that might be a tad healthier than an entire batch of cinnamon sugar scones…hypothetically speaking of course. I shared one or two with the children, I swear.

I dug through my pantry and cobbled together enough half empty bags to make up one of my favorite flavor combinations. Almond, cranberry and coconut happens to be my favorite Kind bar so I figured the three would go together just as well in a traditional granola bar. I took my old granola bar recipe (please excuse the pictures-it was early blog days then) and tweaked it a little.

The combination worked really well. The toasted coconut added a nice balance to the sweetness but despite the honey and the sugar it isn't overly sweet. Don't feel like you need to toast your coconut, but if you do want to all you need to do is spread it on a baking sheet for a few minutes while you're oven warms up. Keep an eye on it and as soon as it starts to brown take it out. Burnt coconut is not an enticing odor: I speak from experience. The texture of these bars is soft rather than crunchy. If you find these a bit too crumbly, cool them in the refrigerator before slicing and store them there as well.

What are your favorite grown up snack foods? 


Cranberry, Almond and Toasted Coconut Granola Bars
adapted from my adaption of a Smitten Kitchen recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup toasted shredded coconut
1 cup almonds  ( I used slivered because that's what I had on hand but whole would be great too)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp water
1/3 cup almond butter

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, and try to keep just a little hanging over the side.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Mix the melted butter, vanilla, honey and water together and then pour them into the dry ingredients. Stir together until combined and then add in the almond butter. Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out until it covers the whole pan and the top is smoothed.

Bake for 20 minutes until the top just begins to brown. Cool in the pan. Let sit in the refrigerator for a few minutes if they seem crumbly before cutting. Wait to cut into squares or slices until it has completely cooled.