Homemade Nutrigrain Bars

Well this adventure all started when Oussama brought home some snacks for Laith to take to school, i asked for healthy snacks so he brought home nutrigrain bars...that's healthy..right? Ya right when i read the back of the package i was shocked, i hate not knowing what the ingredients are that i am eating let alone Laith. I figured how hard could it be right? Well i was right. I mean the taste isn't EXACTLY, but it tastes pretty good and he seems to prefer them to the nurtigrain bars.

First i cut up 2 apples and squirted them with lemon to give them a little tang.

In a saucepan i melted like a tablespoon of butter and i sauteed the apples until the juices were release.

When the juices are almost evaporated i added brown sugar and cinnamon. (If i ever made this again i would prob add more cinnamon and add nutmeg too to give it a stronger taste)

Let a sauce form and cook the apples until they are soft

Add a mixture of cornstarch and water to thicken it up. I would prefer not to use cornstarch but if the mixture isn't thick enough then it will fall out of the bar and burn.

Once the sauce was really thick i blended it in the food processor. Let this cool while you make the bar dough.

We are going to need 1 egg, and 1 stick of butter

I grounded 3 1/2 cups of quick cooking oats and i also need 1 cup of flour (i used wheat)

1/2 cup of both white and packed brown sugar

baking soda, baking powder and salt (mixed with the flour) and vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg and beat it until its light in color.

Add the vanilla

Add the oats and flour that was mixed with baking soda and powder and salt. Note: only add salt if you are using unsalted butter, if you use salted butter just skip that step.

After the dough was mixed wrap it up and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour so the butter firms up and it is easier to work with.

Roll the dough out

and then cut a long rectangle.

Add the apple filling (you can use any kind of filling, try berries or apricot or anything you feel like eating.)

fold the dough over and secure the seam by pressing down. Then cut the long bar into small bars and cook on a baking sheet.

The bars are really good but here is what i would so differently:

1) Add less sugar to the bar dough

2) roll the bar dough out as thin as possible otherwise it overwhelms the apple filling

3) add more spices to the apple filling but not sugar

4) Because they puff up i would make the bars smaller.

5) another option would be to lay a layer of dough in a pan, put the filling and then lay another layer of dough on top of that and just cut into squares when its cooled.

The Written Recipe is:

Apple Filling:

2 hard apples

1 tablespoon of butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon (i would make it 1 tablespoon and add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water

Bar Dough

1/2 cup of butter

1 egg

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup flour

3 1/2 cups oatmeal ground (measure before you grind)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt.