Recipe of the Week: Peanut Butter and Honey
Granola Bars

Special Note: Seasons Greetings Everyone… We wish you all a happy and safe holiday season… 

From now until the end of 2009, we would like to offer you The Expat Cookbook with a 50% price reduction.

This week's recipe for Peanut Butter and Honey Granola Bars is for one of our readers. Thanks for the suggestion Inga! 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 3 tablespoons flax seed
• ½ cup smooth peanut butter
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup nuts or dried fruit
• ¼ cup of protein powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F)
2. Line a 9×9 square baking dish with parchment paper and set out a cooling rack
3. Place the oats and flax seed in a baking pan and place in oven
4. Watch the oats carefully; if they burn you’ll have to start over
5. Take oats out of oven when they are a golden brown (5-10 minutes)
6. While the oats and flax seed are toasting, add honey and peanut butter to a small saucepan
7. Turn the saucepan on low to med-low heat until the mixture is warm and smooth (be careful not to burn or simmer)
8. Place the nuts or dried fruits in a medium sized mixing bowl
9. Coat the nuts or dried fruit with protein powder if using
10. Carefully add oats to the bowl of nuts or dried fruit
11. Add the peanut honey mixture to the blow
12. Mix well with a wooden spoon
13. Place the mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly
14. The bars will be about ¼” in depth when spread correctly
15. Carefully lift out parchment paper from baking dish and let cool on rack
16. After about 30 minutes flip the block over to cool more evenly
17. After they are cool down, place the bar on a hard surface and cut

Tips and Modifications:

1. Do not use salt if you are using salted peanut butter or salted nuts
2. Should take about 20 minutes to prepare
3. Makes about 10 granola bars
4. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can oil the baking dish with grapeseed oil, but you’ll need to be careful when removing the block from the dish to cool
5. Can substitute millet, flax seed meal, wheat germ, etc. for flax seed
6. Ideas for nuts or dried fruit: peanuts, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, etc.

Notes: You can find a recipe for Peanut Butter in The Expat Cookbook, on sale now for 50% off.

I was able to find flax seeds at the Disco at Punta Carretas Shopping in Montevideo. They are in the section with the dried beans.