Granola Bars

Granola bars are one of those funny things here in Jakarta.  You can get them, sure, but you will pay an arm and a leg.  And your brand and flavor options are limited, too.  I wouldn't call myself a granola bar connoisseur or anything, but I like to have them on hand for a quick breakfast or snack to take hiking or biking, so this situation is somewhat frustrating.

I wondered if I could make my own and whether they would taste as good as (or hopefully better than) the store bought ones.  I'm not quite sure that this recipe achieves any sort of economical success for me, as the ingredients for making the homemade version are not particularly cheap here, either, but the flavor is pretty nice! 

I made my version basically based on Alton Brown's recipe... I used whole almonds (which I then chopped), roasted and salted sunflower seeds, regular brown sugar, and raisins.  Also, I threw in some chocolate chips when stirring the dry and wet ingredients together... the chips melted throughout so the whole bar has a chocolate-y flavor.  Maybe next time I'll try adding some peanut butter?

Pecan Coconut Tart

I over-bought shredded coconut back when we were making Christmas cookies, so I was trying to come up with a way to use it up- this recipe looked interesting and had a lot of good reviews on epicurious, so we gave it a try.The recipe was pretty good- it seems like a cross between a pecan pie, a granola bar, a 7-layer bar. It's oaty, nutty, and caramely. Like some of the other recipe reviewers said, maybe I wouldn't cook the crust quite as long since it gets a second bake with the filling.