Nutri-grain bars, take II

I titled this blog the way I did, because I wanted to try the bars again. I also wanted to modify the recipe a bit and see what I come up with. Now the last time, they came out great, don't get me wrong. My older 2 children (ages 11 & 9) LOVED them, the four year old however wanted NOTHING to do with them like they were. It got me thinking, the "real" nutr-grain bars you buy in the store, have a cake-like appearance and consistency to them. The ones I made using the recipe, while they where good, they were also kind of dry and crumbly.

 So, what could I do to change that? Well, here is what I have done, and we'll see how it works out. I went ahead with the recipe as stated, BUT(!), I didn't use the butter (OMGosh! that's a lot of butter!), instead I made the cake mix as stated on the box, and added the quick oats into it. I used a whole jar of jam (18 oz instead of 12), still using just the 1 table spoon of water.  Next I started spooning the really thick mixture in to an already greased pan. This did prove to be a bit challenging as it was more of a batter, but didn't spread as easily as batter. None the less, with a fork, and a "patting" action, I had it spread to a pretty even consistency in the pan. Next came the jam, just like the directions said. Last  I put the remaining amount of the batter on top, again using a more patting like action to smooth it over the top of the layer of jam. The bars are currently in the oven baking. They smell WONDERFUL!

 After baking for 30 minutes this is what it looked like:

As you can see it turned out nice and brown on top. But this time the "bars" are a little to soft and moist. I know, I know, there is no pleasing me! (LOL) Really there is, I just need to find a way to fine tune this recipe, so it is the best combination. The kids just got home from school and saw the bars cooling on the table and dug right into them. Faith didn't like them at all, Justin LOVED them, Libby didn't like them. So there you have it. Not a success yet, but we'll get there. Thankfully I have a family who doesn't mind being test subjects for my recipes. Yes they are honest with me about the recipes, but are never unkind or nasty about it.