I really think buying baking supplies and nuts in bulk is key!  You always have a great supply and can easily whip up a recipe at a moments notice.

With all the rain lately I was craving a snack with a little more flavour.  I found a recipe online that I altered slightly, it turned out really well, and tastes like a gingerbread granola bar.  Yummy!

Homemade Cranberry Spice Granola Bars

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown rice crisp cereal
3/4 cup rice syrup
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
2 Tbsp Molasses
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
pinch ginger

Preheat the oven to 325°. Spread the almonds and pecans on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 6 – 8 minutes, or until they start to brown a bit.

In the meantime, line a 9X13 pan with parchment paper.

Mix the oats, rice cereal, cranberries and toasted almonds and pecans in a big bowl.

In a small saucepan, heat the syrups, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger and vanilla extract over medium-high heat, stirring to avoid burning. Once the syrups come to a light boil, continue to cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes until the syrup begins to thicken, then pour it over the oats and nuts. Mix together so that the syrup evenly coats everything in the bowl.

While it’s still warm, pour the contents of the bowl into your prepared baking dish. Pat everything down so it’s nice and compacted. I like to place some parchment paper over the top and really press down so that the bars don’t break apart when you eat them.

Let cool to room temperature. You can also put them in the fridge for a bit since this’ll make cutting easier. Cut them into square or rectangles as you please.

Makes about 12 square granola bars.

You can store in the fridge for a week or freeze if you like.

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