Reviewed: Apr. 29, 2012

Great stuff! I used craisins and since I'm allergic to nuts, used some gluten-free chocolate rice puff cereal and coconut flakes. Added a 1/4 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips too. Will add them well after mixing in the heated butter/sugar/honey mix so they don't melt! Can't wait to try this basic recipe with cinnamon instead of cardamom, which my 7-year-old didn't care for.

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Reviewer:

Maria

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Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 26, 2012

These were really good, and I love the cardamon flavor. I took the advice of several other reviewers and used dried cranberries instead of raisins, added just a little less brown sugar, and made sure to press the mixture together really well and let them cool completely before cutting. I also mixed in a little ground flax seed for added fiber. They held together ok, but the end pieces were pretty crumbly. I saved the pieces that crumbled as I was cutting them and used them as a topper for vanilla yogurt--delicious!

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Reviewer:

LompocCook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Batavia, Illinois, USA

Living In: Lompoc, California, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2011

Who knew you could make your own granola bars?? I was afraid I'd let the butter/sugar/honey boil a bit too long, but they came out perfectly. I did use the tin foil (saturated with cooking spray). The bars sliced up nicely with minimal crumbling. I love the peppery taste of cardamom, but this was a bit much and needs to be cut back to 1 tsp. I can't wait to try this again as there is so much you can change up - the fruit, the nuts, the spice, adding chocolate morsels etc. I love recipes like this that inspire my creativity!

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Reviewer:

KARENKINM

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Salisbury, Maryland, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 6, 2010

They did not hold there shape as much as I would have liked them to

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Reviewer:

Renee

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Bath, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 8, 2010

I should have followed other reviews with regards to the issue of the bars holding together. The taste and smell was wonderful, but it was falling apart so I put it back in the oven and I overcooked it. Don't cook it for too much longer - otherwise you'll get granola :) which was still yummy. I used it to top yogurt, and well, I just ate it with a spoon because it was so good. I'll have to leave it cool next time before cutting to see how it works, or try patting it down after it comes out of the oven like a couple others said to do.

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Reviewer:

hilarybear

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Sep. 8, 2010

Fantastic flavor but fell apart and became more granola than bar. Next time will add an egg white and reduce the wet ingredients. Really versatile recipe. You could add salted roasted edamame/soy nuts, crasins, flax, sesame....go for it! Definitely worth a try.

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Reviewer:

lisa22

Reviewed: Sep. 5, 2010

My first granola bars turned out great for our long bike ride! I substituted walnuts for toasted sliced almonds and added .5t more of ground cardamom. Next time I think I'll add a bit more raisin or mix it up with dark chocolate and wheat germ. Very sweet and tasty granola bar!

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Reviewer:

Sara

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Leavenworth, Kansas, USA

Living In: Olathe, Kansas, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 24, 2010

Reduced sugar to 1/4 cup, used only 2 tbsp butter and added 4 tbsp applesauce. The flavour was very good but despite pressing it as flat as I could into the pan it was still fairly crumbly and a bit dry (thought that part may have been because of my playing around with the fat content). I baked for 27 minutes but would probably remove even earlier next time. I will make again but try to think of other changes to make it hold together better.

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Reviewer:

cookingdoc

Reviewed: Mar. 24, 2010

Followed the recipe to a T and although they are tasty, they all FELL APART when I tried to cut them. Nice granola snack mix!

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Reviewer:

dadskitchen

Reviewed: Mar. 15, 2010

This is a fantastic recipe. I have had a lot of fun adding different things to this. So far I prefer a cup of mixed dried fruits and chopped peanuts. I began making these for my kids to eat before sporting events, but ended up having my hubby ask for more as he enjoyed them as a quick hearty breakfast before work. I even added chocolate chips by accident once not thinking about what would happen when I added the hot mixture...what a yummy accident that was! The kids liked the treat of "chocolate bars" as stirring in the heated mix melted all the chips promptly making a very yummy treat.

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