Apple, cinnamon and pecan granola bars
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
- 260 g rolled oats rounded
- 100 g pecans, roughly chopped rounded
- 100 g soft dried apple rings, cut into 5 mm pieces rounded
- 30 g ground flaxseed rounded
- 130 g maple syrup rounded
- 55 g packed light brown sugar rounded
- 60 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces rounded
- 4 g ground cinnamon rounded
- 2 g fine salt rounded
Method
Method
- Heat the oven to 175°C. Line a 20 cm square tin with a parchment sling. Spread the oats and pecans on a sheet pan and toast for 8 minutes, stirring once.
- Transfer the warm mixture to a large bowl. Add the dried apple and ground flaxseed. Keep the oven on.
- Put the maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt in a small heavy saucepan. Melt gently, then bring to a steady boil. Cook, stirring, until a sugar thermometer reads 110°C, about 2 to 4 minutes. Without a thermometer, the bubbles should be thick and glossy and a spatula drawn across the base should leave a path for about 1 second.
- Pour the hot binder over the dry mixture immediately. Stir for 45 seconds until evenly glossy, then scrape into the lined tin before it begins to set.
- Cover with parchment and compress with the flat base of a measuring cup as hard as possible for one full minute, paying attention to the corners and edges.
- Bake for 17 to 21 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and the centre is set. Cool in the tin for 60 minutes. Lift out, cool for another 15 minutes, then cut into 12 bars with a sharp serrated knife.
Notes
- Allergens: pecans and dairy. Oats can have gluten cross-contact; use oats specifically labelled gluten-free when required.
- Use dried apple, not fresh apple. Fresh fruit adds too much water for this formula and makes the bars soft, perishable and prone to mould.
- Binder cooked to 110°C, a forceful one-minute press and complete cooling keep the bars together. Crumbling usually means the syrup was undercooked, the slab was pressed loosely or it was cut warm.
- Store fully cooled bars airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerated for up to 7 days. Freeze between parchment for up to 2 months and thaw in the closed container.
- Wrap individually and pack in a rigid box. They can travel for the day without an ice pack, but avoid direct sun and hot vehicles.