Granola

Granola Bars (Molasses Oatmeal Bars)

by:
January 10, 2014
4
3 Ratings
Granola Bars (Molasses Oatmeal Bars)
  • Makes 16
Author Notes

This recipe is reprinted with permission from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain.

If you're using a thermometer for this recipe, bring the syrup to softball stage and not any farther -- if you take it beyond that, the syrup has the potential to harden more than you'll want in the final product. —Kim Boyce

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Dry mix
  • 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra to butter the pan with your hands
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • Wet mix
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsulphured (not blackstrap) molasses
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Generously butter a 9 x 9-inch glass or metal baking dish.
  2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot that will hold 2 cups of oats with ample room for stirring. Adjust the flame to medium and stir the oats every minute or so for about 6 minutes. The oats need to be about two shades darker than they are raw; keep a few raw oats on the counter next to you as a reference point.
  3. Pour the toasted oats into a large bowl. Wipe out the pot and set it aside to use again for the syrup. Add 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal and the cinnamon to the bowl.
  4. Toss the raisins with the remaining tablespoon of flaxseed meal and chop finely. (Tossing the two together keeps the raisins from sticking to your knife.) Add them to the oat mixture.
  5. To make the syrup, measure the honey, brown sugar, molasses, and salt into the reserved pot. Place it over a medium flame, stir to combine, and cook the syrup until evenly boiling, about 6 minutes. Resist the temptation to remove it early -- boiling the syrup gives these granola bars real chew.
  6. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture, making sure to use a spatula to scrape every last bit out. Then use the spatula to coat every flake with syrup. This means going over and over, tossing and scraping the oats together. Scrape the granola mixture into the prepared pan.
  7. Form the bars, butter your hands and press the oats firmly and evenly into the pan.
  8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The outer edge of the granola bars should be darker than the rest and the bars should have a beautiful sheen. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut the contents of the pan into quarters, for a total of 16 bars. Remove the bars from the pan and let cool before eating.
  9. The granola bars can be eaten the day they're made, or kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Double Helping
    Double Helping
  • Kara Von Kelso
    Kara Von Kelso
  • Rachael Severn
    Rachael Severn
  • Claudia Natera
    Claudia Natera

Popular on Food52

7 Reviews

Double H.
Double H. February 5, 2014
I made these yesterday. They were a little too sweet and too salty for my taste and quite tough. They were still edible and my house members still ate it but I'm afraid I probably won't be making again. I like my granola bars a little more wholesome than dessert-like I suppose!
 
Claudia N.
Claudia N. January 31, 2014
What's flaxseed meal? is it the same as grinder flaxseed?
 
Double H.
Double H. February 5, 2014
Yes. It's ground up flaxseed. I purchased it already ground up from my local whole foods. I suppose you could grind it up yourself but I have never tried that.
 
Claudia N.
Claudia N. February 5, 2014
Thanks
 
Kara V.
Kara V. January 23, 2014
Step 3 says to add the cinnamon but I don't see it in the ingredients list. How much should be added?
 
Rachael S.
Rachael S. January 26, 2014
I found her recipe posted on another site and it calls for 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I made them and they were delicious!
 
Kara V.
Kara V. January 27, 2014
Thanks!