Gourmet Granola Bars

When Bruce started a new job that didn't allow him much time for breakfast in the morning I, being the wonderful, devoted wife that I am, started looking for recipes for stuff that he could grab and take with him. And, since he has to spend a BIG portion of his day driving around, I also wanted to come up with some easy snacks. These chewy granola bars qualify on both counts.

This recipe is for a basic, chewy granola bar. You make it gourmet by adding your favorite stuff: chocolate chips, raisins, Craisins, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, nuts, coconut* . . . Whatever sounds best to you. And I'll tell you, I've come up with some killer-good creations!

GOURMET GRANOLA BARS

2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 to 1 1/2 cups add-ins [the creative, gourmet stuff—see intro*]

1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together the 2 Tbsp. melted butter, 2 Tbsp. corn syrup, and 3/4 cup sugar. It will turn into a big, wet glump of sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal, wheat flour, Rice Krispies, salt, cinnamon and whatever gourmet add-ins you want.
With your fingers, mix the sugar stuff with the oatmeal stuff. You will have to work it in with your fingers to make sure it's evenly mixed. [Yes it is sticky and messy, but worthwhile—just keep repeating to yourself, "No more stale, cardboard, granola bars!" ]
In the small bowl that is now empty, mix the 1/4 cup melted butter, honey, water and vanilla until it's homogenized [how's that for using a big word?].
Pour this mixture over the oatmeal mixture and mix well—Yep! With your hands. It's just easier that way, and your hands will wash!
Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Pour the granola mixture into the pan. Press it down firmly and evenly.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Now you have a 9 x 13-inch granola bar. If you want smaller granola bars, cut it into pieces the size you like (I make 24 bars with a pan this size, which is comparable to store-bought bars). But leave the bars in the pan because they fall apart if you remove them while they're hot!
When they're mostly cooled you can take the bars out of the pan and put them into snack baggies, or an air-tight container.

Now you have a terrific, made-to-order snack for your family, you gourmet chef, you!
Bon appetit!

Oven-Baked, Blueberry-Stuffed French Toast

This is a traditional Christmas breakfast dish in our house. It's great for Christmas because you prepare it the night before, and then in the morning you toss it into the oven and by the time you're through opening your gifts your breakfast is cooked. And it is sooooo yummy! I should really make it for other occasions than Christmas. Like tomorrow. Mmmm.


Oven-Baked, Blueberry-Stuffed French Toast

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
a drizzle of maple syrup, about 1 Tbsp.
12 oz. white bread cut into cubes (about 3/4 of a loaf)
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 1/2 cups milk
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
cinnamon
additional nutmeg
1-2 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into about 1/4-inch cubes

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and maple syrup until well-blended.
Put half of the bread cubes into the baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the bread in the baking dish.
Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the top of the bread and cream cheese.
Put the remaining bread cubes into the baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg; then press it all down a little.
In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, 1 tsp. nutmeg and milk. Blend well.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. Press it all down again, if necessary, to make sure all the bread cubes are moistened.
Scatter the little butter cubes over the top of it all.
Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and then cover the baking dish with the foil. (Cooking-spray side down, right?)
Put it in the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, put the French toast into a cold oven.
Turn heat to 350 and bake for about 1 1/2 hours—until it's not soggy anywhere.
Remove from oven and serve it warm.
It's really delicious as is, but I suppose you could top it with blueberry syrup. Or whipped cream on top would be yummy.

Merry Christmas!

More Marvelous Muffins

Mmm, Mmmm, Mmmmmm!

On May 16 our friends Grant and Janae had their first baby—an absolutely beautiful little boy. And as an excuse to visit (like we needed an excuse) we made a whole bunch of muffins and took some over. I already posted the Blueberry Muffin recipe [just click on the link :-) ], but here are the recipes for the Orange-Cranberry Muffins and the Bran Muffins. (These are also from The Best Light Recipe cookbook.)

CRANBERRY-ORANGE MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, chopped fine
2/3 cup orange juice
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
tiny pinch of cloves (optional)
2 tsp. grated orange zest [I use a little more--I like it orangey!]
1 cup sugar [I think you could get away with 3/4 cup]
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine cranberries and orange juice in a microwave-safe container; cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 minute. Let stand, covered, until softened and plump. Strain cranberries, discarding juice.
Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. You can use cupcake-papers, but I think they're nicer if you just spray the pan. Also, the recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but they must use a bigger tin than I do. This recipe makes 18 muffins in my tins (about 2 to 3-inches across the bottom of each cup).
Process the sugar with the orange zest until pale orange, about 10 seconds. If you don't have a food-processor, just chop the zest very fine and then mix it in with the sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and 1/4 of the sugar together. Set aside.
Beat 3/4 of the sugar and the butter together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until very fluffy. Add vanilla.
Turn mixer to low-speed and add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating just until incorporated, followed by 1/2 cup of the yogurt, scraping down the bowl as needed. Repeat this process two more times, alternating between the remaining flour and yogurt. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated.
Gently fold in the cranberries.
Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip them out onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Yum!

And now, the

BRAN MUFFINS

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk (don't use 1% or fat-free. Yuck!)
6 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray your muffin tin.
Stir the wheat bran, yogurt, milk, molasses and vanilla together in a medium bowl until combined; let sit for at least 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of the sugar together; set aside.
Beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Beat in 1/3 of flour mixture until just incorporated, followed by 1/3 of the bran mixture, scraping down bowl as necessary. Repeat this process twice more, alternating between the flour and bran mixtures, until ingredients are just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Gently fold raisins into the batter.
Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, flip them onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Yum, yum!

Light Blueberry Muffins

You are thinking, "How good can that be?" Incredibly, amazingly, tantalizingly good! I love, love, love the people at Cook's Illustrated---at least I love their magazine, their website and their recipes. So I bought their cookbook, The Best Light Recipe a year or two ago. These muffins are really terrific--ya gotta try 'em! Did I mention that they are delicious?

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (Yes, I do like unbleached flour better. At first I couldn't tell a difference, but now I really do think it tastes better than bleached flour. It makes your bread a prettier color too.)
1 cup cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 cups blueberries

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. [I think Cook's Illustrated uses a bigger muffin pan than I own--this recipe fills 1 1/2 of my tins.] Whisk the flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup of the sugar together in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat the remaining sugar and the butter together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
Beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture on low speed, until just incorporated; follow with 1/3 of the yogurt, scraping down bowl as needed. Repeat this process two more times, just until you've mixed in all the flour and yogurt. Do not overmix.
Gently fold blueberries into batter. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden---25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Cool muffins in pan for five minutes, then flip them onto a wire rack to cool for 10 more minutes before serving.