I know granola bars aren’t a decadent baked treat, but now that I have made them I can say I won’t be buying them in the store. They are like rice krispy treats – you melt some stuff, add some stuff to it, and put it in a pan. You do have to actually bake granola bars, but the oven really does that work. And once you’ve made rice treats you would (probably) never buy them. You know yours are better. Same with granola bars.
Admittedly, my first attempt was more granola than granola bar, but it tasted great over yogurt. Then I realized that I needed more of a ‘spackle’ so I tweaked a few things and got a bar that held together. There are no tips for baking at altitude because it wasn’t a factor; the only consideration was the lack of humidity requiring spackle because the mix was a bit dry. But the best part – I used ingredients I had on hand. I chose the nuts and fruit I like, with added chocolate, and I didn’t include yucky things like high fructose corn syrup. Here comes breakfast.
Until next time, happy baking!
Custom Granola Bars
Equipment
- 8 x 8-inch baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons agave syrup
- 4 tablespoons refined coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons almond butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 3 tablespoons flax seeds ground
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons chopped dried cherries
- 2 tablespoons chopped dates
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8" pan and set aside.
- Melt agave syrup, coconut oil, almond butter and cinnamon together over gentle heat in a pan. Remove from heat and add flax seeds.
- Combine oats, pumpkin seeds, cherries, dates, and chocolate chips in a bowl. Pour almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to form a sticky mixture. Press mixture firmly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Will keep for up to a week when stored in an airtight container.