Apple Crisp Without the Apple

During the Fall, I fix apple crisp several times a week. Bill and I love it, as do my parents so if you see apples in the house, you can be pretty sure an apple crisp will materialize within 24 hours!

It seems unfair, though, to fix a dessert over and over that Kay doesn't like. She really likes the topping but we won't let her eat that and leave the apples so she usually chooses to go without. So I decided to try to make a granola bar that tasted like the topping to the apple crisp.

These were enjoyed by everyone and came pretty close to the flavor I was looking for.

Granola bars

2 2/3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup dry milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Heat the oil, honey, syrup and vanilla in a pan (or in the microwave) until heated through. Add to the dry ingredients. Press the mixture into a parchment paper lined 9 x 13 pan (it didn't reach all the way to the edges). It should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool completely and then cut into rectangles.

This gave me about 25 bars. The edges were too tough and so I cut those off (and then proceeded to eat them anyway!).

Kay: These were good. They had a lot of cinnamon which I like. It was a little chewy though so they made my tooth hurt a little but I still liked them.

Mom (Dana): We like granola bars in general and these were easy enough to make that I'm going to try to do this instead of buying so many of the boxed ones. I'm sure these are also more healthy than most at the store!