Healthy Baking

I love to bake. For better or worse, I can get away with doing a lot of it because I am one of those hated few who can eat almost anything without worrying about what the scale says. Everyone says that this will get me in trouble in the future. My response: Enjoy it while I can.

I also find that when I’ve had a less than stellar day (like yesterday) I often find myself in the mood to bake. That probably sounds like a very unhealthy habit (which it probably is), but I really think it is the act of creating something that I find stress relieving, not the eating of the sweets. Don’t get me wrong though, I do love to eat what I bake.

Sometimes I do guilt myself into trying to bake something “healthy” though. The recent spring weather has made me crave fresh produce and lighter meals. I didn’t make either of those last night, however, because I really wanted to bake. But I did try to bake something “healthy”. I don’t think I was completely successful. I wanted something that was like a granola bar, but a little bit more like an oatmeal cookie. Less crunchy, more soft. What I tried to adapt was this recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen.

I replaced the raspberry filling with some dried cranberries that I had rehydrated with a little lemon juice, water, and cinnamon. I was hoping this would make them less like a coffee cake and more like a granola bar. It did, but I wasn’t totally satisfied with the result. If anyone has suggestions for other adaptations or has a favorite cereal bar recipe, please share!