Make Your Own Granola Bar

This decadent granola bar comes from Josh Allen, the owner of Companion Café in St. Louis, Mo. The combo of chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts and seeds is the perfect fuel before a long ride.

Ingredients

Granola filling
½ cup sugar, granulated
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
½ tsp sea salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted
butter, softened
1/8 cup honey
1 T vanilla
1 egg, large
½ cup cake flour
1 T milk
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, roasted
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup pecans, small pieces
¼ cup dried cranberries

Granola bar base
1 ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
3 sticks unsalted butter
1 T honey
1 tsp sea salt
4 ½ cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour

RELATED: 2 Triathlete-Created Granolas

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (conventional) or 325 degrees (convection).

For filling: Blend at low speed the sugar, brown sugar, salt, butter, honey and vanilla for 1 minute. Add the egg and blend for another 30 seconds. Scrape bowl and beater. Add cake flour and milk and mix for 1 minute. Add the seeds, chips, nuts and cranberries and blend to evenly distribute. Set aside in small bowl.

For bar base: Cream at medium speed the brown sugar, butter, honey and salt to a light consistency (2-3 minutes). Adding oats and flour gradually, blend to a crumb-like consistency on low speed. Don’t overmix.

Lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with a non-stick greaser. Deposit half of the granola bar base over the bottom of the baking dish and press to an even layer. Add the granola filling on top of the bar base and spread evenly. Spread the remaining bar base on top and gently press to evenly cover. Bake for approximately 40–45 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing into bars.

Enjoy!

RELATED: Greek Yogurt 10 Ways