Granola! Part Duex

So, my variation is currently cooling on the kitchen counter. And I have to say, it was quite simple...simpler than the recipe...because I cut out a step by buying the granola already made. Sunny farms has several varieties, so I just bought the simple "Super Nutty", since it already had the nuts and seeds mixed in (2 cups). Then we selected raisins, dates, and dried cranberries to add in (about 8 oz. total). I guess if you selected a type of granola with the fruit already present, that would cut down on one more item to buy/add.

In a saucepan, I cooked up 2/3 c. brown sugar, 4 tbsp. butter, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and 2/3 cup honey. Once it was melted, I threw in the granola and the fruit and stirred it well so that everything was covered with the gooey, buttery honey mix. Finally, I dumped it into a 9x9 glass pan which was lined with a piece of wax paper that had been lightly sprayed with Pam. I folded down the sides of the wax paper to cover the mixture completely and then pressed hard to flatten it down as much as I could. Now, it is cooling for 2-3 hours.

Once I have a chance to taste them, I will let you know if they are any good. Having made the changes I did to the recipe from Joyful Abode, I'm not sure how it will turn out. Her recipe was from scratch, and since I used an already made, sweetened granola, I may not have needed as much (or any) brown sugar or the vanilla extract. We'll see. If these ones are too sweet, we'll cut back on the sweeteners and try it again. If nothing else, this was an easy, cheap cooking venture: approx. 6 bars, 10-15 minutes prep. time, no oven time needed, and only one dirty pan.