I'm completely Smitten!

After reading the Foodie Footsteps post about granola bars yesterday, I clicked over to Smitten Kitchen for the first time and read through her recipe for Thick, Chewy Granola Bars and then went straight to the kitchen to make a batch of my very own. All I can say is "oh my." I've made a batch or two of granola bars from allrecipes before, with a few alterations, and they were pretty good and got good reviews from D.

BUT the S.K. granola bars (which I'm inclined to call "kitchen sink granola bars" because you can put just about anything in there!) are by far my absolute favorite! They beat the pants off of commercially prepared granola bars as far as taste and texture. Not to mention I know exactly what went into them! My version contained what I could find in my pantry that I thought would work okay: pepitas, sliced almonds, craisins, chopped dates, coconut, and some freeze dried fruit mixture. I also used a little almond extract, replaced the oat flour with whole wheat pastry flour, used agave nectar instead of honey, and added 2-3 Tbsp of Nutella to the wet ingredients. Baked in an 8x8 pan they came out thick and chewy just like the recipe says. I love these granola bars, and as others have mentioned, I had to portion them out and individually wrap them and put half the batch in the freezer for fear of eating the entire container ~ they are THAT good. Thank you Foodie Footsteps & Smitten Kitchen.