14 healthy butter granola bars Recipes

brown sugar, butter or 1/4 cup margarine, softened, vanilla, egg, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, rice krispies (puffed rice), rolled oats, semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional), raisins (optional)

puffed brown rice cereal (or puffed millet), quick-cooking oats, apricot, chopped, walnuts, chopped, shredded coconut (preferrably unsweetened ), honey, peanut butter, flax seed meal, mixed with, water, carob chips

brown sugar, butter, turbinado sugar, honey, vanilla, egg, flour, almond meal, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, puffed rice cereal, almonds, dried blueberries, rolled oats

raisins - cover with 1/4 cup water & microwave for 1 minute, banana, blackstrap molasses, eggs, butter, salt, old fashioned oats (can be partially replaced with bran, wheat germ or any cereal you are trying to use up), walnut halves, chocolate chips (optional)

oats, rice krispies, chopped walnuts (optional), cocoa, chopped crunchy dried bananas (banana chips), semi-sweet chocolate chips, mini kind (or to taste), salt, smooth peanut butter, sugar, skim milk, vanilla, egg white, lightly beaten

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

oatmeal, soy flour, wheat germ, yeast, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, flax seeds, honey, maple syrup, applesauce, melted butter, dried fruit (i used dried cranberries and berry medley from trader joe s containing cherries, blueberries, and)

vanilla extract, unsweetened applesauce, milled flax seed, honey, molasses, corn flakes , like honey oat crunch, hemp granola cereal or 3/4 cup other granola cereal, old fashioned oats, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking soda, cinnamon, unsweetened dried shredded coconut, millet, golden flax seed, peanut butter chips or 1/3 cup chocolate chips or 1/2 cup dried berries, chopped pecans or 1/2 other nuts, salt

quick-cooking rolled oats, brown sugar (use more for a sweetness if you want it like store bought bars), oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender), salt, ground cinnamon (optional), dried fruits (* aprox 10 to 15 oz) or 2 -3 cups nuts (* aprox 10 to 15 oz), peanut butter (i use almond butter) or 1/3 cup another nut butter (i use almond butter), vanilla extract (optional), butter (melted ) or 6 tbsp margarine (melted), molasses, agave syrup (you can use light corn syrup if you do not have agave), water

quick oats, mixed nuts, dried fruits, cinnamon, salt, peanut butter, honey, vanilla extract

bananas, dried fig, chopped, dried apricot, chopped, pitted dates, chopped, raisins, granola cereal, chopped toasted almond, almonds or 2 tbsp peanut butter, flaked coconut