a basic granola bar recipe for autumn to come

School started last week. Morning fog returned. Leaves are changing and I can smell autumn in the air. My favorite time of year with the anticipation of coziness, gatherings and squash soup.

Many mornings, after I drop off Jon and Miren at school, I take a walk through Discovery Park in Seattle. I particularly love it during rainy mornings as it’s bare and raw. Everything that a PNW beach promises… rounded grey rocks, bleached driftwood, tangled bushes and tall trees and the deepest color of seaweed. A snack and the woods.

Beautiful Cristel

I love a wintery beach, a hot beverage and a granola bar in my pocket.

This recipe is very simple and also a basic guideline of how you can make your own flavor variations. I give you the ratios and you do the rest.

I also shared the recipe with Conde Nast Traveler so take a look through the other stories I have contributed.

Basic granola bars

This is the basic granola bar recipe I use. I mix the flavors and the nuts, seeds and fruits I use but this is the ratio that works for me. To make it vegan, use coconut oil and bananas and almond butter. See notes below.

Makes 12 bars

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup quinoa flakes, puffed rice or puffed millet or quick oats (the purpose is to have something that has a finer texture than the rolled oats)
2 1/2 cups seeds, nuts or any dried fruit (in this recipe I used pecans, pumpkin seeds and freeze-dried raspberries)
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or ginger (or any other spices you would like to taste)
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten (if you would like to make it vegan, you could use 1 very ripe mashed banana with 2 tablespoons of almond butter instead)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8”x8” square pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the first three ingredients.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, apple juice, maple syrup, vanilla, spices and salt. Heat over medium heat until butter melted. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and fold until combined. Add the eggs and fold.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown. Let the granola cool in the pan completely before cutting or it will crumble.