Strawberry Coconut Granola Bars

I can't possibly write this post without saying that I was having a bit of a blurry picture problem when I took these pictures.  They're grainy.  It's kills me.  It was a camera setting issue that I think I've now fixed but these pictures really break my heart.  But these bars were too good not to share!

Will you forgive me?

But these granola bars!  They're not at all what I set out to make.  Does that ever happen to you?  I sort of scanned the ingredient list, making sure I had everything I needed, and then started assembling.  It wasn't until halfway through that I thought "wait a sec, these bars will be super chewy" (because of the corn syrup).  I originally set out to make soft granola bars (think of those old-school Quaker Oat bars from grade school) but I'm really pleased that I totally made a mistake.  

Because these bars are like a hybrid of those Quaker Oat bars and those SUPER crumbly granola bars in the green packages.  Nature Valley?  Those.  Pretend they mated and you'd have these.  

Slightly crumbly, super chewy but still a little soft in the center.  

Oh, and packed with almonds, coconut and dried strawberries.  Quaker Oat ain't never offered me that.  And they're just hearty man.  Cut slightly bigger slices, wrap well in plastic wrap and you have breakfast on-the-go for the week.  

Happy mistakes!

Here's the recipe!  

Strawberry Coconut Granola Bars
makes approximately 12-16 bars

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (or 1/2 cup if you'd like them less sweet)
• 1/3 oat flour (you can 1/3 rolled oats, processed in a food processor until finely ground)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups dried strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup sliced almonds 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup  plus 2 tablespoons corn syrup (you could swap the 1/4 cup for honey or maple syrup)
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9"x9" pan well with cooking spray and set aside.  

2.  In a medium bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, salt, cinnamon, strawberries, coconut and almonds.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, butter and water until well combined.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir well to fully coat the dry ingredients.  

4.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  Using butter hands or a silicon spatula, gently but firmly pat the mixture into the pan to ensure it's tight (and won't crumble later).  Bake for 25-30 minutes until fragrant and golden brown with color around the edges.  Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.  When cool, use a serrated knife to slice and serve!  

Enjoy!  

Recipe barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen.