44. Cranberry-Cinnamon Granola Bars

From 2003 Southern Living Annual Recipes

My favorite 3:00 snack is a granola/protein/energy bar, and I've tried them ALL. So, I thought I'd make my own to compare.

When I looked at the recipe, I was a little worried that these would be really dry, considering that there's very little liquid holding them together. But, they were chewy and particularly "rich tasting" to be low-fat. The cranberries gave great little burst of tartness.

The recipe calls for these to be cut into nine bars (really, more like squares). Each bar has 139 calories, 2 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fiber.

2 cups low-fat granola cereal
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vegetable cooking spray


Combine first 6 ingredients, and press mixture evenly into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.


Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes, and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.