Cranberry-Oat-Chocolate Chip Honey Bars
Here I am, snug in my home office, looking out the window at the rain and waiting for Hurricane Sandy. It’s, well, I am thinking, kind of silly to be waiting for the power to fail.
I feel like the hilarious Dorothy Parker waiting for the telephone call from her boyfriend.
Which never comes of course.
So, maybe the power won’t go out?
But at least, while waiting, I did a couple of useful things like read some of my book (In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson) and get rid of that awful pile of papers on my desk, waiting to be filed.
And I also made Cranberry-Oat-Chocolate Chip Honey Bars because I read that it was National Oatmeal Day. And of course I know that cookies are not exactly oatmeal, but these do have oats in them. So, here’s the recipe in celebration of National Oatmeal Day and also Ed and I will have some more goodies when (if) the power goes out.
Cranberry-Oat-Chocolate Chip Honey Bars
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square cake pan, line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang (to pull the cookies out after baking) of about 3-inches on each side. Lightly grease the paper. Place the oats and almonds on a cookie sheet and bake for about 4 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until the oats and almonds are lightly toasted and aromatic. Remove from the oven. In a medium saucepan, combine the vegetable oil, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes or until hot and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the oat mixture. Stir in the cinnamon and cranberries. Let cool. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool. Remove by pulling the overhanging paper. Lift out, place on a cutting board and cut into 16-24 pieces.
Makes 16-24 cookies