Anyone out there feel like their kids live off of granola bars?? Life is busy and if your house is anything like ours, we are constantly shuffling between sports and activities and the kids are catching quick snack breaks in the car. Granola bars are a staple in our house because they are quick and easy and protein packed but a lot of them are filled with way too much sugar. Next time you have 45 minutes to spare, whip up a batch of these homemade granola bars. They are filled with protein and healthy fats and they hit the spot every time!
Since everything tastes better toasted, you first need to toast the oats for 15 minutes. Once the oats are toasted, add them to a bowl and mix in raisins, chopped nuts, chia seeds, hemp hearts, etc. You really can add whatever ingredients that sound best to you, change it up adding different nuts or dried cranberries instead of raisins. The binder consists of maple syrup, coconut oil, almond butter, honey and vanilla. Melt those ingredients together in a saucepan and mix together with the dry ingredients.
Line a 9 X 12 casserole dish with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan until tightly packed. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chunks over the top.
Return to oven for about 5 minutes until the chocolate chunks have had the chance to melt, remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature and then place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Lift the parchment out of the pan with the bars on the parchment and place on the counter, cut into squares like this.
Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The only problem with these guys is that you will never want to buy store-bought granola bars again…they will go fast!
- 2 C rolled oats
- ½ C raw, unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped
- ½ C raw pecans, coarsely chopped
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
- ¼ C hemp hearts
- ½ C raisins
- ½ C golden raisins
- ¼ C unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ C almond butter
- ¼ C pure maple syrup
- ¼ C honey
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ C semi-sweet chocolate chunks
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread oats out evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
- While the oats are baking add chopped nuts, chia seeds, hemp hearts, raisins and coconut flakes to a large bowl. Remove oats from oven and add them to the bowl. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees.
- In a small saucepan over medium low heat add almond butter, maple syrup, honey, cononut oil, vanilla and salt. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Pour half of the sauce over the oat mixture and mix. Add the other half and mix until incorporated.
- Line a 9x12 caserole pan with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture evenly in pan and press down.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chunks over the top and place back in the oven for 5 minutes, until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature and place pan in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
- Remove from freezer and cut bars evenly, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Good Thyme Tip- This recipe allows for a lot of modifications. Use any type of nut you prefer or omit if you prefer nut free. You can substitute the almond butter for peanut or cashew butter as well.
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