Chocolate Chewy Granola Bars
I will be the first to admit that I love a good chewy granola bar for many reasons: their slightly sweet but still feel a little healthy because of the oats and nuts, their quick and make for an easy snack and they are fairly cheap and easy to make for a great grab and go for anyone in the family. While you can buy them in the store for quite cheap they are also easy to make at home and have on hand in the freezer.
I decided to make my bars with a combination of dried apricots, coconut, dried cranberries, chocolate and nuts. They are slightly sweet but you don’t feel like you are eating a candy bar. They fill you up and my toddler loves them. Win for all!
You can buy sliced or slivered almonds but I find it cheaper to buy whole ones and chop them yourself.
Chop to the size you like: here is how I like them.
On a sheet pan, toast the oatmeal and almonds for about 8 minutes or until fragrant (stir once halfway)
In a saucepan combine honey, butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract until sugar is dissolved.
My choice of add ins. You can customize these granola bars any way you like: dates, dried cherries, m&m’s, any other dried fruit, other nuts and more
Once sugar is dissolved add almond butter if desired. You could also use any other nut butter.
Pour mixture over oats, almonds and wheat germ
Add flax seeds and let cool for 5 minutes.
Once the mixture has cooled a little add your desired extras. The chocolate chips will melt a little which is fine because it will help the bars stick together
Pour mixture into an 8×8 pan lined with tin foil and sprayed with non stick spray or oiled
Press mixture into the pan until it is really compact. This helps the bars stick together better later. Really press them in. Add remaining chocolate chips to the top and gently press them in with a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Remove bars from pan and slice into desired size. Store bars in an air tight container for up to a week (if they last that long) or freeze the rest for later.