Cranberry

Homemade Cranberry Lemon Granola Bars

January 14, 2012
4.5
6 Ratings
  • Makes 16-20 bars
Author Notes

I went through a phase in high school where I was determined to find the best homemade granola bar recipe. I tried recipe after recipe after recipe and none stood up to the test. So I gave up and returned to store bought variety. About a year ago though my favorite, Cran Lemon Zest Earnest Bars, disappeared from the shelves of my local Whole Foods and sent me on a granola bar quest again. This recipe, adapted from the Smitten Kitchen, is my version of those Earnest Bars. It is very very flexible though, so no need to stick with the lemon and cranberry theme if you don't want to!

The flax seed and wheat germ can be completely omitted if desired. Instead of cranberries, walnuts, and almonds you can use any combination of dried fruit and nuts as long as it equates to 2 to 3 total cups worth. (Other possibilities include, but are certainly not limited to, dried apricots, cherries, or blueberries, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, or chocolate chips.) The lemon zest and lemon extract can also be omitted. You can substitute vanilla extract is desired or just leave out the “extract” component entirely. Finally, you can use all olive oil (or a different type of oil like sunflower or canola) or all butter for the fat. —Herstory of Food

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 2/3 cups rolled oates
  • 1/3 cup whole grain oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, finely ground in a food processor or blender)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 1/4 cup ground wheat germ
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 3/4 cup walnuts
  • 3/4 cup almonds
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon water
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8? x 8? x 2? pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Coat the parchment paper and exposed sides with a non-stick spray or lightly grease.
  2. Stir together all the dry ingredients, expect the lemon rind. (The dried fruit and nuts can be chopped, or not, to taste. Obviously, the less they’re chopped the chunkier the bar.)
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon rind, lemon extract, olive oil, melted butter, peanut butter, honey and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry using a fork until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.
  4. Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges. Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack or, after about 20 minutes, lift and remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper. Place on a rack in their paper to cool the rest of the way. (The latter method can speed up the cooling process.)
  5. Once cool, use a serrated knife to cut the bars into squares. If the bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them for 30 minutes. Then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it is best to refrigerate the bars.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • MrsBeeton
    MrsBeeton
  • susan g
    susan g
  • Herstory of Food
    Herstory of Food
  • Karen
    Karen

4 Reviews

Karen February 4, 2018
I, too, am searching for the perfect granola bar and I love lemon so am willing to try this one. BUT...I have had continual problems with bars becoming crumbly and not holding together as a "bar". Before I start this recipe is there any change you can recommend regarding ingredients or process that will prevent crumbling?
 
MrsBeeton February 28, 2012
Your recipe asks for 1 2/3 teaspoons of rolled oats. I'm thinking that is should be "cups" instead?
 
Herstory O. April 4, 2012
Yes, cups! So sorry. I'm trying to figure out how to change that on the recipe right now!
 
susan G. January 14, 2012
Even the best purchased granola bar won't be this fresh! I like what I see.