Picnic

Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa is for Snack.

Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa takes several minutes to prepare.

Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa takes several minutes to cook.

Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa makes 12 servings.

The ingredients for Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa are:

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped apricots, cranberries and raisins)

Here is how you make Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa:

Preheat your oven to 350?F. Butter an 8?12-inch baking dish (lacking this, I used a 9?13-inch) and line it with parchment paper.Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the oven temperature to 300?F.While the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares ? your best serrated knife is great for this.You can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or two, as you would cookies, however, I prefer to store mine in the freezer. I find that they stay the most crisp this way as all granola tends to soften at room temperature after a day or more. Number of Servings: 12Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BRIDGETMCL.

The nutritional information for Granola bars - adapted from Barefoot Contessa is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 256.0

• Total Fat: 10.0 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 6.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 39.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 6.3 g
• Protein: 5.7 g