The butterscotch flavor comes from a package of instant pudding, so you can easily make them Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies (or anything else) by swapping out the pudding flavor. Sometimes these vintage-convenience-classic recipes are the most fun to make because you can imagine the smiling mid-century housewife throwing them together with frosted pink nails and a frilly hostess apron while she waited for her brood to come home from school.

If you like crispy cookies (like my friend and coworker Brenda), you’ll like these cookies. The texture is almost sandy, and the pudding mix lends just a hint of flavor, so you can trust that the flavor will still be mostly chocolate chip.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Big ‘Y’ Quality Circle and 4-H Club Cookbook, 1985

Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 package instant butterscotch pudding
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. Cream the butter, shortening, and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to beat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Gradually add it to the egg mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.
4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until tops are just beginning to brown.
5. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 5-6 dozen cookies.

Click to view and print the recipe for Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Many years later, I realized dates came in a larger, fresher form that could actually taste good. I also grew to respect the role of the mighty date in the dessert archives, since dried fruits used to be one of the only affordable and reliable ways to bake with something sweet year-round.

My mother often tells me that my Nana used to make date nut bread, which they would slice and spread with cream cheese. When I visit Nana I like to bring her something sweet, so on my last trip down to Wakefield I brought date nut squares.

In an effort to be time-period accurate, I scoured my old cookbooks for a recipe, and found one in a paperback of Betty Crocker’s All Time Favorites. The batter was thick, but the bars baked up nicely, and looked lovely laced with delicate ribbons of icing. For Nana, the sweeter the better.

Date Nut Squares
Adapted from Betty Crocker’s All-Time Favorites (1977)

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch baking dish.In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until light and lemon colored. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until combined.
2. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and continue mixing. Fold in the dates and nuts, then spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. The batter will be quite thick.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, then cool and cut into squares. Drizzle with icing if you wish (add milk to powdered sugar until thin enough to drizzle).

Yield: 16 squares
Click to view and print the recipe for Date Nut Squares

When I find them, they usually aren’t in any shape to be used in the manner in which they were intended. Measurements are clunky (a teacup of butter), ingredients are dated (one yeast cake), and sometimes the amount of lard called for makes me shudder, but I still buy them.

Then sometime I get lucky and come across a book like this one, “New England Cookbook” by Eleanor Early, a 1954 gem that is old enough to be vintage, but new enough to be relevant. Better than its functionality, however, is its authoress. Eleanor writes with chatty charm that makes you want to lean in close. Each of the chapters has a fact-filled, amusing, and entertaining introduction, and nearly all of the recipes that follow have an anecdotal preface — something I love in a cookbook. Recipes are supposed to have a heartbeat and tell a story.

For example, before giving a recipe for Chicken Soup, Eleanor recounts the following tale:

I had a letter the other day from a friend in a reminiscent mood. The first paragraph was startling:

“So you’re going to do a cookbook…I remember the day you showed me how to make a lamb stew out of a bone I was going to give to Mrs. Harris’ dog, and the night you salvaged some chicken carcasses at Marie’s dinner party. With your New England thrift, I bet it will be a mighty economical book…”

The day I cheated Mrs. Harris’ dog has slipped my mind, but I do remember the chicken carcasses. Those chickens had not been picked at all. It would have been a sin and a shame to throw them away, and I took them home to make a lovely soup. Later I heard that some of the guests thought I was a little queer, although anybody who has ever made a good chicken soup knows that the richest stock comes from a meaty carcass.

You tell ‘em Eleanor. I want to meet her for lunch, pull off my gloves by the fingertips, and have a serious discussion about how many potatoes are too many when it comes to chowder.

Some of the dishes have wonderful, weird names — things like Rum Tum Tiddy, Fannie Daddies, Sparkin’ Pie, and Jolly Boys. Still others are classic New England — Boiled Dinner, Johnny Cakes, Shaker Donuts, Red Flannel Hash, and Toll House Cookies.

As usual, I started a list to tuck into the front cover.

I could have opened up the book anywhere (well, anywhere but the chapter titled “Meat as the Yankees Cook It”) but I chose to start with Harwich Hermits. I love the spicy, molasses flavor of hermit cookies — a popular seafaring New England cookie  noted for its ability to last on long voyages — but had never made them myself. This recipe, named after the town of Harwich on Cape Cod, seemed like as good a place as any to start.

Don’t mind my unruly parchment.

The finished cookies (which are actually more like brownies in texture) were chewy, spicy, and packed with old-fashioned molasses and raisins flavor.  A perfect treat with a mug of coffee or glass of milk. Vintage cookbook success!

I am already looking forward to my next culinary date with Eleanor!

Harwich Hermits
Adapted from “New England Cookbook” by Eleanor Early (1954)

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup raisins, chopped
1/2 cup currants, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a 9″ baking pan with parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and spices. Place the raisins and currants in a small bowl and toss with a tablespoon (or as needed) of the flour mixture until the fruits are lightly coated. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and molasses and continue to beat.
4. Add the flour mixture gradually until just combined. Fold in the raisins, currants, and nuts.
5. Spread the mixture evenly into the pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until deep golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cut into squares or bars while still warm.

View and print the recipe for Harwich Hermits.

In truth, the foods I remember most were store-bought bagels, crisp and buttery from the toaster on tiny white paper plates, and any kind of macaroni — especially Mama Rosie’s cheese-stuffed ravioli with milk and garlic bread. The ravioli was frozen, but the 2-inch high mound of parmesan on top was always fresh, grated by hand from a wedge in the fridge.

I still love bagels and macaroni, but because I can get them anytime, they don’t conjure up a memory sigh. The things that do are rare — the foods that only came out once or twice a year at family parties. Auntie Mella’s Italian Cookies are one of those. She was married to my Uncle Artie, my grandfather’s brother, a warm, teasing man who made a game of standing right next to me when I was small, but looking over my head and asking the room “Where’s Aimee?” while I jumped up and down, waving my hands, yelling “I’m right here!”

Uncle Artie on the right, posing with my Papa at our 1992 family picnic.

My mom likes to tell me that he once asked me, the way you do when children are learning the names of relatives, “Do you know who I am?” and I said that I did — that he was Uncle Artie. When Auntie Mella asked me the same question a moment later I said “Sure, you’re Uncle Artie’s friend!”

Technically, I was correct.

Her cookies were firm and perfectly round, like mushrooms, but once bitten revealed a soft, cake-like interior. The tops were coated with a hard, shiny glaze and covered with minute, colored sprinkles. What child can resist the sight of all those sprinkles?

I didn’t recognize the aroma or flavor, but it was not the vanilla, chocolate, or peanut butter cookies I was used to. If I had known the delicate, sweet taste in my mouth was anise (the flavor in black licorice) I might have stuck out my tongue and said I knew I didn’t like it, but I didn’t know, and they had those sprinkles, so I tried one. And I loved it.

I’ve been dreaming of Auntie Mella’s cookies for years. She passed away before I developed my passion for baking, so I never had the chance to tell her how much I loved her cookies and how much they reminded me of being little and underfoot at family parties where all the people I loved were alive and happy and laughing and teasing one another after a baptism, or at our annual summer picnic.

Our annual family summer picnic celebrated its 61st anniversary in 2011 – our last in Saugus.

I tried to make them over the years. Tried to find recipes in tattered secondhand community cookbooks or online, my eyes scanning the list of ingredients and method of shaping and glazing, looking for something I recognized, but none of them ever looked or tasted right. None of them were Auntie Mella’s.

Then, last weekend, I tried again. Unlike the other times, I updated my Facebook status with my plan, and a half hour later my mom called. She had the recipe I was looking for. Auntie Mella’s daughter, my mom’s cousin Anne Marie, had written it down for her on an envelope a few years ago at a family event. She knew it by heart. My mom read it out loud to me over the phone, and in about an hour, I was biting into one. An actual dream come true.

Out of the oven they don’t look like much, but they smell wonderful, and it’s nothing a little glaze can’t help.

They came out just as I remembered them. How often does that actually happen? I ate my fair share (never mind the number), then shared the rest with my friend Heather, mom, and Nana. Food is arguably one of the strongest links we have to memory, so I plan on celebrating the memory of my Auntie Mella, the whole wonderful Italian side of my family, and my own childhood memories by making these cookies, and making them often.

Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!

Auntie Mella’s Italian Cookies

Ingredients
3 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons anise extract
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

For the Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
2 - 3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon anise extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, extract and baking powder.
3. Add the vegetable oil and milk, then the flour, one cup at a time, until well combined.
4. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough, and roll smooth between your palms.  Flour your hands if the dough is too sticky.  Arrange the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until bottoms of the cookies are a light golden brown.  The tops will still be pale.
6. Remove from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl until just smooth.  You want it more thick than thin, but still runny.
8. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the glaze, then return to the wire rack, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides of the cookie.
9. Top with sprinkles.

Cookies are best eaten right away.  Once covered the trapped moisture will soften the glaze and the colors from the sprinkles will bleed.  Still tasty, but not so pretty.

Makes around 30 cookies.

Click to view and print the recipe for Auntie Mella’s Italian Cookies.

Yes, I know there are versions of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, and peanut butter cookies made even more peanut-y thanks to the addition of chunky peanut butter or chopped, salted peanuts…but for me, this classic version is still the best.

Ever wonder why peanut butter cookies have their distinct “criss-cross fork” pattern on top?  Peanut butter cookie dough is very dense, so pressing down on it before baking helps the cookie cook evenly.  The earliest mention of the fork-press method dates back to the Schenectady Gazette in 1932, a trick quickly adapted and popularized by giant flour producer Pillsbury throughout the 1930′s, and the method stuck.

When the craving for a good peanut butter cookie hits, whip up a batch (this King Arthur recipe is a winner), pour a glass of cold milk, and surrender.  It’s an American tradition!

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use natural)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture until well combined.  Add the water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
5. Place rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2″ between each.
6. Use a fork to press a criss-cross shape onto each tablespoon of dough.
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown.  Do not overbake or your cookies will be too crisp.
8. Transfer to a wire rack to cook, then store in an airtight container.

Yield:  24 cookies

Print Version

Confession – I am ardently in love with fresh basil.  Head over heels.  Smitten kitten.  I want to marry it.  All of those things.

Basil is wonderful in many Italian dishes and paired with its BFF’s, tomato and mozzarella, but basil is also a marvelous ingredient in buttery cookies, especially when you also add in the citrus tang of lemon and lime zests.

I found this recipe a little odd.  The dough comes together in a food processor, similar to making pie dough.  The recipe said the dough would form “moist clumps,” but mine wouldn’t hold together to form a ball, so I added in 2 teaspoons of milk to make it wet enough to shape into balls.

The extra milk is probably why the cookies stayed a little moist in the middle, so if I make these again I will poke a few holes in the center of the cookies with a toothpick before I bake them .

Overall, if you love basil like I do, you will want to experiment with these cookies so you can enjoy the burst of fresh basil, citrus and butter when you bite into them.

Citrus Basil Butter Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for pressing  cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons sliced fresh basil  leaves
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons milk
Sanding sugar (optional)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Combine the flour, sugar, butter, basil, zests, lemon juice, and salt in the bowl if a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  If you don’t have a food processor, whir in a blender.
• Slowly drizzle in the milk until dough just comes together.
• Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and arrange on baking sheets, leaving 2″ between each.
• Take a flat-bottom measuring cup and lightly cover it in additional powdered sugar, then press onto each ball of dough to lightly flatten it.
• Sprinkle tops of the dough with coarse sanding sugar, if desired.
• Using a toothpick or piece of raw spaghetti, poke a few holes in the center of each cookie.
• Bake until the edges are brown, around 12-15 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Yield:  16 cookies

Print Version

These gifts from heaven are chewy, brown sugary, the size of hamburgers, and loaded with tart dried cherries, toasted pecans, oats, and chocolate chips.

Truth be told, I would have liked these just fine without the chocolate chips, but since I was bringing them to a picnic, I thought I should be courteous and include them…since most people seem to like chocolate.

Did you know that?

 Bakers and lunch ladies agree that the ice cream scoop delivers consistent perfect portions, though I prefer using mine for cookie dough versus mashed potatoes.

The picnic was with some of my favorite Boston food bloggers (and ladies in general)…Fiona from A Boston Food Diary and Jen from Beantown Baker.  We met up in a Brookline park last week, along with Jen’s lovely friend Katie, to enjoy the late summer sunshine. 

Naturally, there was A LOT of delicious food.  This doesn’t even include the desserts.

We washed it all down with Jen’s homemade Blueberry Lemonade, which I am sure will be making an appearance on her blog sometime soon.

During our lunch there was a squirrel that wouldn’t stop coming right up to the table.  It would approach, then rock back onto its haunches like a meerkat and watch for any indication that it was going to be fed.  At first we laughed, but then the laughter got a little nervous, until Fiona and Katie started scooting away.

“Excuse me, ladies.  Care to share?”

Naturally, I befriended the squirrel and gave in after an hour and threw it some Maple Pear Tea Bread, which it thoroughly enjoyed.

I wasn’t about to share these cookies, though…they were too good.  Make some yourself and see!

Cherry Pecan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli) or 4 oz. of chopped bittersweet chocolate
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), slightly softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another medium bowl, mix together dried cherries, toasted pecans, oats, and chocolate chips.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary.
• On low-speed, slowly add the flour mixture until just combined.  Then turn off the mixer and fold in the oat/cherry mixture with a rubber spatula.
• Using a scoop or measuring cup, divide the dough into 16 even portions.  Form each portion into a ball, then place it on the cookie sheet and lightly flatten it with your palm or the bottom of a glass to 1 inch thickness.  Place the balls 2 1/2 inches apart on the cookies sheets.  I could only fit 6 of each on mine, so I had to re-use a cookie sheet once it had cooled for the final 4 cookies.
• Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, then remove the baking sheets and rotate them front to back and top to bottom.  Continue to bake until the edges are golden brown 8-10 minutes longer.  It’s okay if they look a tad underbaked in the middle.
• After a few minutes, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield:  16 large, delicious cookies.

Print Version

In my recent Key Lime Pie post, I mentioned that my cousin Jaime opted to use Biscoff cookie crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs for the crust, which showcased their signature caramel flavor.  I have since realized that not everyone knows what Biscoff cookies are, but they should, because “Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee” is a title worth celebrating!

The name Biscoff comes from a combination of the words ”biscuit” and “coffee.”  Known as Speculoos in Belgium, the decorative, crispy cookies have been made by Lotus Bakeries using the same recipe since 1932.  Americans began to notice Biscoff cookies in 1984 when Delta Airlines began serving them on board with coffee, and passengers enjoyed them so much they demanded the cookies be available stateside. 

This past spring, Lotus Bakeries introduced Biscoff Spread.  The spread is a smooth, creamy version of the popular cookie (in fact, 57% of the spread IS Biscoff cookies), and the response has been, well…enthusiastic.  I saw one woman at my local grocery store gathering up four jars at once and scurrying away. 

When I picked up my jar I knew just what I wanted to do with it – make my favorite No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars, but swap out the peanut butter for Biscoff Spread.  I added some white chocolate chips for flavor-balance and texture, and the result was caramel-infused perfection.

Want to try Biscoff Spread for yourself?  Visit here for a $1 off coupon!

Have you tried it?  Do you eat it right out of the jar?  Spread it on apples like my friend Beantown Baker?  Make a Biscoff and Jelly sandwich?  They all sound good to me!

Biscoff Bars

Ingredients
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (2 “sleeves” if you’re crushing your own graham crackers)
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
1 ½ cups Biscoff Spread
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1  bag of chocolate chips (milk or semisweet) – you can use less than the whole bag, but it makes for an easy clean up to just use the whole darn thing

• In a large bowl, combine the Biscoff Spread, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. 
• Once combined, press firmly into a 13×9 inch pan and set aside.
• Scatter white chocolate chips over mixture and press firmly to make the surface even.
• In a double broiler or in the microwave on low power, melt the chocolate chips.  Once melted and smooth, pour on top of peanut butter mixture and use a spoon or rubber spatula to distribute evenly.
• Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until chocolate hardens. Then allow to come back to room temperature, and cut into squares.

Yield:  24 2-inch bars

Print Version

Allow me to share a story…

My parents host our family Thanksgiving. I’m not sure how it came to be, but my participation includes going home the day before to help my mom prepare the food and get the house ready for guests.

She says I get to be her “special helper.” I tell her it’s not that special, but I show up every year anyway.

Last year I wanted to make my mom her favorite cookies, Italian Clove Cookies. I had never made them before, so I didn’t know that the dough is very thick and that her recipe would call for an awful lot of it.

Long story short, I broke her hand mixer and she didn’t get any cookies.

Oops.

Fast forward to this past weekend, which I had planned on spending with my parents at their new house. Armed with my stand mixer, capable of mixing any dough, I finally made my mom a batch of the cookies as a housewarming gift.

She loved them, and I hope that puts to rest the occasional “I don’t know what you did to my mixer Aimee, but you definitely broke it.”

Have another cookie, Mom! I love you, Mom!

The recipe for these Italian Clove Cookies is “Lena’s Cookies.”  Lena was a neighbor of my mom’s growing up in Peabody, MA.

On sight you expect these cookies to taste like chocolate, but instead you get a spicy combination of cocoa, cinnamon, and cloves.  It’s no surprise that many people associate these cookies with the Christmas season – they have that warm Christmassy aroma.

They are also sometimes called Italian Meatball Cookies, which I ignore for obvious reasons.

Put them on your cookie “must-make” list!

Italian Clove Cookies
Adapted from Lena

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (plus more for garnish)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Frosting Ingredients
2 cups confectionary sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
3-4 tsp. water
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, cocoa, cloves, and cinnamon.
• In a large bowl (preferably using a stand mixer) mix together sugar, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
• Add flour mixture to wet mixture in small batches and mix until combined.  Dough will be very stiff.  Add nuts and chocolate chips.
• Break off pieces of dough and roll into balls the size of walnuts.  Arrange on baking sheet with a few inches between, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until set.
• Once cool, dip the top in frosting and garnish with a few additional chopped walnuts.  Allow frosting to harden before stacking.

Yield:  40-50 cookies.

Print Version

I love granola bars.  The real kind.  For me this means without chocolate chips or loaded with excessive added sugars.

I prefer the soft, chewy bar to the crisp, crunchy variety – but either way, a granola bar done right is the ultimate adaptable, portable, healthy snack.

If you’re a granola bar fan, making your own is a great way to save money, increase nutritional value, and tailor them to suit your taste.

While these are baking the smell is wonderful.  Toasted nutty, fruit, oaty, buttered heaven.  Yankee Candle needs to get going on this…

I loved these granola bars and they made a great on-the-go breakfast bar.  Satisfying and filling, they lasted all week and met with a lot of praise.  I am already looking forward to making another batch using a new fruit and nut combination.

What would be in your dream granola bar?

Sidenote:  My little sister Melanie used to adorably call granola “regola” when she was a toddler.  Now she is halfway through college and makes me feel old, but also so very, very proud.  Love you, Smelly Melly!

Chewy, Homemade Granola Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, ground until fine in a food processor or blender)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2-3 cups dried fruit and nuts (10-15 oz. if using a scale)
1/3 cup nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew, etc.) (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. water

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8×8 pan with parchment or non-stick foil, allowing for overhang on 2 sides.  Lightly grease the parchment or foil and exposed pan.
• In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients, including your selected fruits and nuts.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, corn syrup, vanilla, and water.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture, and toss to combine.  Add nut butter if you are using it.
• Press mixture into prepared pan with the help of a rubber spatula.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the bars are browned around the edges.  The mixture will still seem soft in the middle, but it will set as it cools.
• Cool the bars completely in the pan, then lift the parchment or foil to remove and place on a cutting board.
• If they seem crumbly (mine did) pop them in the fridge for a half hour to make them easier to cut neatly.  You may want to store them in the fridge if the weather is humid.  Either wrap them individually or stack them in an airtight container.

For my bars, I used chopped walnuts, almonds, cherries, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, and unsweetened coconut.

Note that if you use peanut butter, you will definitely taste it!

Print Version