Strawberry Breakfast Bars

I have always wanted to try making a granola bar and since I have the time this summer, I decided to give it a shot.  For the first time I thought it turned out pretty well but I need to do quite a bit tweeking before I will be happy.  I have to say, a thousand times better than the ones you buy at the store, and nothing artificial!!

I'm thinking of doing more whole wheat flour and less white flour and experimenting with the bran and oats.  The jam in the center didn't excite me all too much.  I would defiantly not use as much cornstarch and probably add some lemon juice and zest into the jam for the center.  Also I would make a little less of the oat/bran mixture to make the bar a little less thick, also maybe decrease the amount of jam too.

Also, make the strawberry jam FIRST! 

Strawberry Breakfast Bars

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup of All Bran, ground up
3/4 Cup of whole Wheat Flour
3/4 Cup of White Flour
1/2 Cup of Oats
3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar
1 tsp of Baking Powder
1/4 tsp of Baking Soda
11/2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Cut into Small Pieces
1/4 tsp of Salt
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of Nutmeg
2 tsp of Vanilla
2 Cups of Strawberries
1/4 Cup of Water
1/4 Cup of Agave Nectar -- I used honey because it is what I had, worked great
2 Tbsp of Corn Starch + 1 tbsp of Cold Water

Directions:

1. First up, grab your dry ingredients; the bran, flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and add them to your bowl.

2. Mix them up and then add in your vanilla to the dry mixture.

3. Now start adding in your butter a handful of pieces at a time and use a pastry fork to incorporate. If you don't have a pastry fork a regular fork works well too. Continue to add the butter until it's all incorporated into the dry mixture.

4.Now grab your strawberries and throw them in a pan with the water and agave nectar (honey). Get it boiling and then emulsify (I used a immersion blender)  the strawberries to create a smooth liquid. Add in your cornstarch mixture and let it boil for a minute or two until thick. Remove from heat and put in the fridge to cool completely.

5. Grab your crumb mixture and press half of it into an 8x8 baking dish.

6. Pour the cooled strawberry mixture over the top. Add the rest of the crumb mixture and gently press it down into the pan to tighten up your top layer of bar.

7. Throw the whole thing into an oven heated to 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let cool completely and get ready to enjoy a true breakfast treat!