Happy Father's Day!!!

As I grow older I realized I have become that nagging daughter that father’s dread. I don’t feel that I have always been this way; just more so as I approach 30.

I mean I will be honest I am the only child so I am sure I have been a handful throughout the years, or whined about other concerns or materialistic items..but I have never been so naggy about my parents being healthy until recently.

At times I am sure it is annoying...but it is out of LOVE!..and isn’t that my job as the daughter? : )

Anyway as you already know from my mother’s day entry, I live very far away from my parents; so as with mother’s day I thought it best to bake something for my dad and ship it, for Father’s Day!

For him I decided I wanted to make him something for breakfast. I notice when I am home that he often grabs a couple of cups of coffee and then jets off to work, leaving him very hungry by 11am for lunch. I really believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and sets the tone for your eating habits for the remainder of the day.

Therefore I decided to make him a hearty and healthy breakfast treat: Homemade Granola Bars!

Since I didn’t know which he would prefer, I made both chewy and crunchy …plus he could have a variety to last him for about 2 weeks!

I hope you enjoy them daddy! Miss you and love you lots! Xoxo

I adapted the crunchy granola bar recipe from the Joy of Baking site. (click for recipe)

I did not use the sunflower or pumpkin seeds as directed. Instead I decided to go with all the scraps of nuts and chips I already had in my pantry.

* which brings in another great reason to bake granola bars..1. They are healthy, 2. You can get rid of left over add-ins you have available in your pantry! (baking and cleaning house..all in one!)

So I followed this recipe using the following add-ins:

½ c. dried cranberries, ¼ c. white chocolate chips, 1 c. sliced almonds, ¼ c. raisins, ½ c. milk chocolate chips, plus ½ cup wheat germ!

 

For the soft chewy granola bars I used a recipe from the site Kitchen Stewardship.

I had a lot of batter left over after placing as much as I could in my pan. Therefore I took a trick I learned from a mommy and me site. Instead of baking her granola in a large pan, she had her kids place the batter in lined muffin tins, pressing the mixture down with your hands or a spoon:

This recipe is quite simple:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour or spelt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, softened*
1 cup honey

Add-ins-1/2 cup walnuts; ½ cup milk chocolate chips

Lightly butter a 9×13-inch pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine butter and honey first:

Then add all ingredients except add-ins.  Beat hard until combined.  Stir in add-ins.  Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart.  (You can use your hands!)  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.  Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.