Walnut & Dried Cherry Bars

So Caleb loves granola bars and each week when I go grocery shopping he asks for some - but man are they expensive! And most of them have a lot of unhealthy crap in them that kind of defeats the purpose of eating a "healthy snack". I am venturing into the world of baking and found this awesome recipe by Ellie Krieger on the Food Network. I made it today and they are so yummy! They are a great snack, or something easy to grab in the morning that is good for you and quick. Some of the ingredients you might not have on hand, but you don't use a lot of what actually comes in the package you buy, so you get a lot for your money because you can re-use the ingredients! Especially the whole wheat flour, or the oats.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg, beaten to mix
• 1 egg white
• 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• Cooking Spray
• 1/4 cup "Fruit Only" Apricot preserves

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, oil, egg and egg white until well combined. Stir in the oatmeal mixture until well combined. Add the dried cherries & walnuts.

Coat an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. In the meantime, put the preserves in a saucepan and bring to a boil. (BECKY'S NOTE: I didn't even notice that step about boiling the preserves until just now. I didn't boil it and it turned out just fine) As soon as the bars come out of the oven, brush with the preserves.

Cool completely and cut into 12 bars.

Overall these are quick, easy, healthy and if you add it up, cheaper than buying store granola bars. Caleb gave them his stamp of approval, we each sampled one and love them. So, here's a picture right when I was putting them away.