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Search Ends For Granola Bar Recipe

Dear Laura: I have been searching in vain for a granola bar recipe. I’ve found plenty of granola recipes, but none for bars. Can you help? - A faithful reader, Kim, Otis Orchards.

Dear Kim: Here are two granola bar recipes. The first bar is a variation of a homemade granola. The second uses peanut butter as a binder. Enjoy!

Granola Cereal or Bars

Adapted from Joanna White’s “The Dehydrator Cookbook” (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks).

4 cups old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1 cup flaked coconut

3/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup bran flakes

1/2 cup soy grits, optional

1-1/2 cups cashews, peanuts or sliced almonds

1/4 cup non-instant powdered milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 2 cups chopped dried fruits (any combination)

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat a large baking pan or sided cookie sheet with a light layer of vegetable oil or nonstick spray.

Combine dry ingredients (first 9 ingredients) together in large bowl; set aside.

Combine oil, brown sugar, honey and vanilla. Stir to blend, then toss with oat mixture. Spread mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake at 275 degrees for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until mixture turns golden brown.

Remove from oven, add chopped dried fruits and spread out on wax paper to let cool. Crumble with hands to separate.

For granola bars, reduce baking time to 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Do not add dried fruits; stir in a little peanut butter, if desired. Press warm granola into a well-greased shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately cut into bars.

Yield: 10 to 12 cups cereal or about 2 dozen bars.

Chewy Granola Bars Adapted from “The Harrowsmith Country Life Baking Book” (Camden House Publishing).

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked

1/3 cup wheat germ

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Optional additions (use all, some or none):

1 cup chips (chocolate, carob, peanut butter and/or vanilla)

1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates

1/2 cup coconut (flaked or shredded)

1/2 cup chopped nuts and/or sunflower seeds

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan lightly with vegetable oil or a nonstick spray.

Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Stir in the oats, wheat germ and sesame seeds. Add optional ingredients, as desired.

Press mixture into prepared pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Yield: About 2 dozen bars.

Dear Laura: I used to have a recipe for plum pie. It was delicious, but I don’t have the recipe anymore. Could you find one for me? Thank you. - Darlene, Spokane.

Dear Darlene: Plum pies bring to mind the nursery rhyme about Little Jack Horner. Perhaps, after making and tasting this plum pie, you’ll be able to say, “What a good baker am I!”

Plum Pie

Pastry for 9-inch two-crust pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup plum juice (reserved from draining plums)

3-1/2 cups plums canned in syrup, drained

1 tablespoons butter or margarine, optional

Prepare pastry; roll and arrange bottom crust in 9-inch pie plate. Set aside. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium saucepan; stir in plum juice. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Pour hot thickened juice over drained fruit. Mix lightly.

Pour into pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter, if desired. Adjust top crust. Cut slits or other designs near center to allow steam to escape during baking. Seal and flute edge. Protect edges with a 1-1/2-inch strip of aluminum foil.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until nicely browned and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Remove foil from edges for last 15 minutes of baking time. Serve warm.

Yield: 1 9-inch pie.

, DataTimes MEMO: Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.