Chewy Cranberry and Almond Granola Bars

I have a very faithful taste tester, my dad, Jack Sr. My dad is willing to eat whatever I put in front of him. I have changed his life by introducing him to cilantro. He loves the stuff. He gets a real kick out me rarely making the same thing more than once. He's always asking me if something is worthy of making it twice. These are. I can imagine having these around for snacks when I am walking out the door. And my dad can imagine that too, because he asked me to keep a steady supply of these around.



2 cups quick rolled oats, divided
1 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
1 Tbsp water

Set the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper, with a generous overhang. Lightly spray the parchment with non-stick spray.

In the bowl of a food processor, add ½ cup quick oats. Pulse until finely ground. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine ¾ cup sugar, light corn syrup and melted butter. Set aside.

Stir together the remaining 1½ cups of oats, ground oats, sugar mixture, remaining ¼ cup sugar, salt, cinnamon, almonds and cranberries.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, syrup or honey, and water.

Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, shaking the pan to evenly cover the bottom and patting down gently

Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're golden brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, loosen the edges, and cool completely.

Using the parchment over hang, remove the granola. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Wrap individually in clean parchment paper.

Rookie's Notes: Use whatever fruit or nuts you want. Raisins, apricots, blueberries, mangoes, chocolate chips, coconut, orange zest, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, pecans. Whatever you have in your cupboard.