I didn’t really know what to call this post. They can’t be called walnut and dried cherry bars, because those are the only two things I omitted from the recipe…I stuck with breakfast bars because I eat these for breakfast. Any suggestions for a more interesting name?
When I saw Ellie Krieger’s recipe for walnut and dried cherry bars, I really wanted to make them. The only problem was that I didn’t have any dried cherries on hand, and I can’t bring nuts to work with me. I decided to give it a try, anyway, with raisins and dried cranberries instead.
They were so easy to make and very delicious. It took about 5 minutes to put the ingredients together and 30 minutes in the oven, and I have breakfast for a little over a week.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour (I think I’ll put less next time)
- 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (Next time I’ll put half a cup)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 egg, beaten to mix
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup apricot preserves
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together oats, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, mix honey, applesauce, canola oil, egg, and egg white.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the dried cranberries and raisins, mix. Pour into an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper (Ellie tells you to spray it with cooking spray, but I find that parchment paper works much better – and clean up is easier!) and pour mixture in.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. During the last 5 minutes of baking, prepare the preserves. Put the preserves in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 90 seconds, until liquidy. Brush over the bars right when they come out of the oven. Cool completely before cutting.
Next time, I’m adding coconut to the mixture and putting more preserves on top. I think more apple sauce/less flour will also be a good change.
These were much easier to make than the last ones I made. They are also denser, chewier, and a little less granola bar-ish. I like them both, but will probably make these more often just because they were SO easy while still being great tasting and pretty filling. A perfect quick bite for the minute before my students come through the door.
I cut them into 12 squares and wrapped them each in wax paper, then put in a zip top bag and froze them…Breakfast for two weeks!
