Chewy Oat & Granola Bars

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven and line the pan

   Set an oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment, letting two sides hang over by an inch or so — those flaps are how you'll lift the whole slab out later. Lightly butter or spray the parchment.

2. 2

   Toast the oats and almonds

   Spread the oats and sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the oats smell nutty and the almonds are just blond at the edges. This is a small step with a big payoff: untoasted oats taste faintly raw and papery in a finished bar. Slide them into a large bowl and let them cool for about 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the dry ingredients

   To the bowl with the warm oats, add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a sturdy spoon until the flour is evenly distributed and you can't see any pale streaks clinging to the oats.

4. 4

   Whisk the binder

   In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and honey until smooth and glossy with no sugar lumps. Whisk in the egg and vanilla until the mixture looks like a thin caramel. Make sure the butter has cooled to just-warm before the egg goes in, or you'll get little cooked flecks.

5. 5

   Combine and fold in the mix-ins

   Pour the binder over the oat mixture and stir until every oat is coated and the mixture holds together when you squeeze a handful. Let it sit for 2 minutes — the oats drink up some of the liquid and the mixture firms noticeably. Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips last, working quickly so the chips don't melt into streaks.

6. 6

   Press firmly into the pan

   Scrape everything into the prepared pan. Now press hard — harder than feels polite. Use the flat bottom of a measuring cup or a second sheet of parchment under your palms and compact the mixture into a tight, level slab, paying attention to the corners and edges. Loose packing is the single biggest reason homemade oat bars crumble.

7. 7

   Bake until the edges are set

   Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and pulling slightly from the sides and the center looks set but still soft when you press it. The middle firms up as it cools, so pull the pan while it still has some give — an extra five minutes here is the difference between chewy and hard.

8. 8

   Cool completely, then cut

   Cool the pan on a wire rack until fully at room temperature, at least 90 minutes. For the cleanest edges, chill the cooled slab in the fridge for 30 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment flaps and cut into 16 bars with a long sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Cutting while warm will tear the bars apart.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick or instant — quick oats are cut finer and absorb liquid differently, giving you a pasty, dense bar instead of a chewy one.

• 2.

  Swap the cranberries and chocolate for an equal volume of any chopped dried fruit, seeds, or chips. Keep the total mix-ins at about 1 cup so the binder can still hold everything together.

• 3.

  For a sturdier lunchbox bar, bake the full 25 minutes and chill overnight before slicing. For a softer, more tender bar, pull at 22 minutes.

• 4.

  If your honey has crystallized, warm it with the butter until fluid — stiff honey won't coat the oats evenly and you'll end up with dry patches.

• 5.

  Maple syrup can replace the honey, but the bars will be slightly less sticky and a touch more fragile. Brown rice syrup or golden syrup are closer substitutes.

• 6.

  Scaling up to a 9x13 pan? Use 1 1/2 times everything and bake 25 to 28 minutes, watching the edges rather than the clock.

Equipment

• 9-inch square baking pan
• Parchment paper
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Flat-bottomed measuring cup or glass
• Wire cooling rack
• Long sharp knife

Storage