Homemade Granola Bars

It's that time of year again when I start spending more time in the kitchen. It's finally cooled down to the point where I chop vegetables without sweating, let alone turn on the oven. And in an effort to get healthier, I've been trying to cook more vegetarian meals. This past week's new efforts included pasta puttanesca (I swapped anchovies for artichokes instead) and couscous with a hearty stew of chickpeas, spinach and mint from a Times recipe (garlic hot sauce is a very fine alternative to harissa).

But one of the recipes we've been tinkering with all summer is the homemade granola bar. It's quick and easy to make, and something you can eat every morning at the office, so it makes sense to keep coming back to it and trying to improve.

The original recipe is from The 4-Ingredient Vegan by my family's nutritionist, Maribeth Abrams. Check her out!

Preheat oven to 350. Convection ovens work great with these.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup agave nectar
1 tbs flax seeds, ground
2 tbs coconut shavings
2 tbs hazelnuts
2 tbs chocolate chips
1 tbs brown rice flour
1 tbs organic soy flour
about 2 tbs water (however much you need to make the dough stick)

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spread evenly on parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Let cool. Slice into bars.

I gotta say, the raw "dough" for this recipe is quite delicious -- and safer than cookie dough!