The thing is, I can't decide whether I like these granola bars. I mean, I must like them, because I eat them up. However while I eat them, I have a constant thought of "hmmm, do I really like these" going through my mind. It may be that I am just not used to the taste of brown rice syrup. Or maybe they need a bit more oomph or something, though I am not really sure what the oomph would be. I used raisins and cherries in my bars, so there is good flavor there. The cherries and raisins were both large though, so if I cut them in half there would be more bites with dried fruit. Maybe I should have toasted the oats and almonds longer??
When you take these out of the oven, they are nice and shiny looking and you are supposed to press down on them with a spatula to help them stay tightly together. I forgot this step, so I did have some crumbles when I cut the bars.
Overall, I give this recipe a hesitant thumbs-up. It is definitely worth another try, and besides, what else am I going to do with my jar of brown rice syrup???
If you are curious about this recipe, check out Baking Chez Moi, pages 328-329. And be sure to visit the TWD blog and click on "LYL: Granola Energy Bars" to find links to other blogs in our group!
These bars did have a great crunchy texture (and were a little chewy too) and I loved that you could adjust the ingredients to your liking. I think I'm going to try adding spices to my next batch for more flavour.
ReplyDeleteYour bars look like they turned out pretty good. I'm still a little on the fence about the brown rice syrup too. I might try this with golden syrup next time.
ReplyDeleteWe loved these bars...they tasted so fresh and nice. Yours look absolutely beautiful. I like how you posed them for their photo op shot! :-)
ReplyDeleteI totally second you with the 'what am I supposed to do with this jar of syrup'! The things we do for the love of baking, huh? *grin* And your pics look great -- Granola, it's what's for breakfast!
ReplyDeleteI was afraid of the brown rice syrup aftertaste... the smell is strong! I think that's why the recipe had a whole tablespoon of vanilla extract, to tone the flavor down a little. Maybe mix the next batch and add a little maple syrup for extra flavor?
ReplyDeleteYour bars look great. Mine had a nice buttery taste to them which I liked. I heavily buttered the parchment paper. I will be making more to use up my rice syrup, too.
ReplyDeleteYour bars looked like the turned out great. I didn't have brown rice syrup so I used our neighbors honey and they turned out beautifully but not crunchy. I added chocolate to mine so everyone will eat them ;0)
ReplyDeletecheers,
Your bars look lovely! These were quite good and enjoyed by all in my house!
ReplyDeleteI loved these. I used golden raisins, cherries, apricots, and orange zest. I also used Lyle's Golden Syrup. I just purchased a jar of the rice syrup to make these again. I read that you can substitute the rice syrup for other sweeteners in baking, stir into your tea, and even drizzle on pancakes! I haven't opened my jar yet, to know what it tastes like.
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