No-Bake Granola Bars: Reading Long Words by Syllable

Saturday Granola Bars

1Every Saturday, my dad and I make a batch of no-bake granola bars for the week. They are chewy and a little crunchy, and they cost much less than the ones at the store. We never turn on the oven, but we do use the stove for one step, so a grown-up should always help. Here is how we make them.

2What You Need: two cups of rolled oats, half a cup of honey, half a cup of sunflower seed butter, a handful of chopped dried apricots, a handful of raisins, a spoonful of pumpkin seeds, a dash of cinnamon, a splash of vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt. You will also need a saucepan, a large mixing bowl, a spatula and a square pan lined with parchment paper.

3Step 1: Pour the oats, apricots, raisins and pumpkin seeds into the mixing bowl. Use your fingers to separate any raisins that are stuck together.

4Step 2: With a grown-up, warm the honey and sunflower seed butter in the saucepan over low heat. Stir until the mixture is smooth and runny. Then turn off the heat and stir in the cinnamon, vanilla and salt.

5Step 3: Drizzle the warm mixture over the oats. Stir with the spatula until every oat is coated. This step takes patience, because the mixture gets sticky fast.

6Step 4: Scoop everything into the lined pan. Press it down firmly with the back of the spatula. If you press too gently, the bars will crumble later. Sprinkle a few extra seeds on top and press them in, too.

7Step 5: Put the pan in the refrigerator until the bars are firm, about two hours. Then lift out the parchment paper and cut the slab into twelve bars. Keep them in a container in the refrigerator. My dad says they disappear faster than anything else in our kitchen!