Homemade Granola Bars

My husband and I are big on snack bars, they're on our grocery list every week. We simply can't get enough of them (although our budget can). Most boxes only come with 4-6 bars. What about the other days of the week?! We usually end up buying more than one box just to make them last between the two of us food-lovers.

I have been wanting to make my own granola bars for quite some time now, and I'd say our first attempt came out pretty great!

Our baked bars consist of oats, almonds, flaxseeds, chia, millet, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, brown rice cacao crisps, raw honey, vanilla extract, pure maple syrup and of course, chocolate-peanut butter drizzle.

Now Let's Get Baking


Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 20-25 minutes




Ingredients

For the granola:

1 ½ c.gluten free oats
1 c. almond slivers
1/8 c. raw whole golden flaxseed
1/8 c. chia seed
1/4 c. millet
1/4 c. roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1 ½ c. gluten free brown rice cacao crisps
1/2 c. raw honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c.pure maple syrup

For the drizzle:

1/4 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. dark chocolate chips





Preheat oven to 325' F

Spread oats and almonds onto a jelly roll pan and
toast in oven for 15 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.

You will know when they are ready when the oats are a light golden color and you begin to smell a delicious, subtle, nutty aroma.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine honey, vanilla & maple syrup.
Bring to a boil then simmer 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the toasted oats and almonds with the remaining dry ingredients.

Gradually stir in the heated syrup.

  Scoop the granola mixture onto a lightly-greased jelly roll pan.
(I use coconut oil for greasing rather than shortening).

This next step is important in order for your granola to stay together and not be as crumbly (yes, it will still crumble a little but not as much. However, you can skip this step if you you're fine with crumbly granola clusters rather than bars).

Place a sheet of parchment paper over top of granola.

Using a cutting board (or a cookbook, tablet, or even your hands), press down firmly so as to pack the granola in tight. Be sure to distribute your weight evenly across the entire pan.

Remove board and paper, and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Once the granola is golden brown, remove from oven and
allow to cool in pan completely.

Once granola has cooled, begin preparing the drizzle.

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and peanut butter together until creamy.

Drizzle over bars.

Cut into squares and enjoy!

Keep refrigerated.




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