Soft and Chewy Trail Mix Cookies

What an exciting weekend this past one was!  Early Saturday morning my beautiful sister gave birth to my very first nephew!  As with many births, especially those that begin with an induction, was a very long process.  Baby Neil was just so comfy in there he wasn't sure he was ready to come out.  So all day Friday and well into the early morning on Saturday my brother in law, my parents and I waited patiently for his grand arrival at the hospital.  Lots of magazines, chit chat, fidgeting and of course bad vending machine food helped pass the time.  I tried to make a good decision, but after 10 hours of hospital lighting it was increasingly difficult.  There were these cookies by Sunmade that sounded super yummy. They were Trail Mix Cookies, crunchy little cookies full of all the great stuff you would find  in a bag of trail mix.  Although they tasted great, they were anything but healthy.  So once I got home I was determined to recreate these guys in a more healthful way.

These cookies are pretty healthy, replacing the fat with applesauce, using only egg whites and full of lots of stuff to bump up your energy level but also satisfy those mid-day cravings.  They remind me a ton of a granola bar, but the nice thing is that they are small so there isn't a big commitment that a whole bar has.  You get to eat a cookie and not feel too bad afterwards.  Nice trade off!

I think I will be playing around with the recipe, replacing some of the brown sugar with white sugar to give more of the "crunch" that I like in a cookie.  But this recipe is definitely a keeper.

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Soft and Chewy Trail Mix Cookies
makes 3 dozen cookies
recipe adapted from allrecipes

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with silpats, parchment paper or grease with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat applesauce, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites until they are frothy and begin to firm up. Fold egg whites into applesauce mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoons on prepared baking sheets.  These cookies don't spread out at all remaining in a mound after baking.  If you would rather have a flatter cookie, press down lightly with greased finger tips.

Bake cookies in preheated oven until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool.

I linked up!

Shiny Happy People Granola Bars- Chewy AND Healthy!

It seems there are two different people in this world- crunchy granola bar people and chewy granola bar people.  I have satisfied the crunchy folks but I left all you others out in the cold.  Well here is another granola bar recipe to add to your collection.  And these ones are totally chewy.   

It is also super healthy, replacing all the oil and fat with mashed banana and applesauce.  It has extra fiber, thanks to the addition of Benefiber.  It is totally optional if you don't have any on hand.  But a great thing to note is that adding it to your cooking and baking is a perfect way to bump up your fiber intake.  Who doesn't need a little extra fiber now and then?!  These also have an almost instant gratification due to the fact that you have to cut them after five minutes vs. the 3 hours needed in cooling time with my other two recipes.  

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Shiny Happy People Granola Bars
2 cups rice crispies
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1 tbsp benefiber (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1 egg, beaten
1 ripe banana, mashed*
2/3 cup applesauce*
1/2 cup honey
1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla

*you can mix and match the applesauce and banana's.  Either use both as the recipe states, or use 1 cup applesauce and no bananas, or 2 bananas and no applesauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Very liberally grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a large bowl combine rice crispies, rolled oats, flour, raisins, almonds, coconut, Benefiber, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Make a well in the center and set aside.

in a small mixing bowl combine throughly the mashed banana, applesauce, egg, honey, and vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients.  Combine the two until everything is very well coated.  Pour into your prepared 9x13 pan.  Pat down hard, leaving 1 1/2 inch space at the end of the pan.  This insures a chewy granola bar.  Don't worry, they won't spread out while baking.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown.  Do not overcook.  The center may still appear undercooked.  Cool for 5 minutes in pan and then carefully cut into bars while still warm.  Once cooled all the way, wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.  If you don't eat these guys within a week, move them to the fridge or freezer.  There are no preservatives so they don't last as long in the pantry as store-bought ones.

Almond, White Chocolate, Cherry Granola Bars

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Almond, White Chocolate, Cherry Granola Bars
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds
1 cup rice crispies
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup white chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a square 8" baking pan with 2 crisscrossed rectangles of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang at 2 opposite ends. The overhang is what will assist you in lifting the granola out of the pan for cutting.

Combine the oats and almonds and spread them out evenly on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes. When the oat mixture has been toasting for about 10 minutes, combine the honey, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, oil and water in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar.

When the oat mixture is done toasting, transfer it to a large bowl and add the honey mixture, rice crispies, white chocolate chips and fruit; stir to incorporate. Spread evenly in bottom of pan, pressing down to create a smooth, even top.

Bake the granola mixture for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. After about a half and hour, press down again super HARD to make sure everything sticks together and you can get nice, firm bars. A measuring cup works well for this. Sprinkle the rest of the white chocolate chips on top and press down lightly.

Let cool completely. Just like my last granola bar recipe- I am serious here. Resist the temptation, I know how hard it is. But if you cut them too soon they will crumble everywhere and they won't be granola bars anymore. Just granola.

... Just like this.   Wait at least 2-3 hours before cutting.

Once cool, lift out of pan using paper as handles. Cut into one-inch wide bars with a large, sharp knife. Then, cut them again in half lengthwise. Store in an airtight container. If you aren't going to eat them all within a week, be sure to refrigerate or freeze them. There are no preservatives in these, so they won't last forever and a lifetime in your pantry like the store bought kinds.

not the prettiest bars, but goodness they  are tasty!

I waited the recommend 2-3 hours before trying to cut them apart, but I still had a lot of crumble.  I think it is because I left my almonds too large and spread them out too thin.  I love big chunky nuts in my granola bars, but with this recipe I should have made them thicker.  I used a 9x13 pan so I could have small, traditional sized granola bars.  With big nuts, I needed a smaller pan, like my 8x8.

But that's OK.  I got about 20 or so bars and with the rest I crumbled further to make granola.

I had the perfect afternoon snack, strawberry greek yogurt topped with my homemade granola.  Heavenly.

Wanna taste?

Granola Bars

Granola bars are very popular in our household. Scott loves to grab them for a quick breakfast in the morning on his way to work and Jackson and I like them as a great afternoon snack.  But goodness, they are expensive AND probably 90% of them have gobs of ingredients I don't feel good about my family eating; high fructose corn syrup, tons of preservatives, artificial colors and flavorings....yack.  I know I can do better then that, and in turn save us some money too!

Turns out I was right- these things are delicious.  They weren't overly sweet, but just right and would be wonderful with a glass of ice cold milk or a cup of coffee.  These were my first batch, but I am already a firm believer.  I won't be buying store bought boxed granola bars ever again.  You can alter this recipe using whatever mix-ins you happen to have on hand.  I can't wait to try out different combinations to get fun, new flavors.  Be creative!

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Granola Bars
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut (we LOVED this in them!)
1 cup sunflower seeds
4 Tablspoons sesame seeds
1 cup nuts of your choice (I somehow had no nuts in my house, so I went without. I would have loved to put almonds in here. oh well, next time!)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup honey or 100% pure maple syrup (I used honey this time)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried fruit (I used a combination of cranberries, strawberries, blueberries raisins and dates)
1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini)

Preheat the oven to 325.  Line a square 8" baking pan with 2 crisscrossed rectangles of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang at 2 opposite ends. The overhang is what will assist you in lifting the granola out of the pan for cutting.

Combine the oats, coconut, seeds and nuts and spread them out evenly on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes. When the oat mixture has been toasting for about 10 minutes, combine the honey, peanut butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, oil and water in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar.

When the oat mixture is done toasting, transfer it to a large bowl and add the honey mixture and fruit; stir to incorporate. Spread evenly in bottom of pan, pressing down to create a smooth, even top.

Bake the granola mixture for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  After about a half and hour, press down again super HARD to make sure everything sticks together and you can get nice, firm bars.  A measuring cup works well for this.

Let cool completely.  I am serious here.  I know it is insanely tempting, but if you cut them too soon they will crumble everywhere and they won't be granola bars anymore.  Just granola.  I waited a full 5 hours before cutting them.   Since I had to work this evening, I held off until I came home.  You don't need to wait that long, but I would recommend waiting at least 2-3 hours before trying to cut them apart.

Once cool, lift out of pan using paper as handles.  Cut into one-inch wide bars with a large, sharp knife. Then, cut them again in half lengthwise. Store in an airtight container.  If you aren't going to eat them all within a week, be sure to refrigerate or freeze them.  There are no preservatives in these, so they won't last forever and a lifetime in your pantry like the store bought kinds.