Granola Bars With Chocolate
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter or canola oil, plus additional for the pan and for your hands
- 2cups mixed flaked grain cereal or rolled oats
- ½cup flaxseed meal
- ½teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼teaspoon salt (optional)
- ⅓cup honey or agave syrup
- 2tablespoons brown sugar
- 1teaspoon vanilla
- ½cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
Nutritional analysis per serving (17.5 servings)
111 calories; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 35 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Generously butter or oil a 9-by-9-inch metal or glass baking pan.
- Step 2
Melt the butter over medium heat in a wide saucepan. Add the flaked grains or oats. Stir over medium heat until the grains are lightly toasted, taking care not to let them burn. Stir until they are beginning to smell toasty and have slightly darkened, six to seven minutes. Remove from the heat, and transfer to a bowl. Add the flaxseed meal, the cinnamon and the salt. Wipe the pan clean.
- Step 3
Combine the honey, vanilla and brown sugar in the pan in which you toasted the oats. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil five minutes. Pour over the oat mixture, and stir until it is evenly distributed over the mixture. Allow to cool for five minutes, then stir in the chocolate pieces.
- Step 4
Scrape into the pan, and spread evenly. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Do not allow to brown or the bars will be hard instead of chewy. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool. Cut into 16 to 20 pieces, and store in an airtight container.
- Advance preparation: The bars will keep for a few weeks in an airtight container.
Private Notes
Comments
I keep coming back to this recipe! I love the combination of flavors and find this a great, healthy snack for anyone. I once substituted maple syrup for the honey, but the resulting bars did not hold together and I ended up using it as granola topping for yogurt.
Also, found it easier to cut these into pieces prior to placing them in the oven.
Great vehicle for some powerhouse additions - along with the flaxseed I added milk thistle, burdock root and dandelion root for a 4-part fresh-ground meal, then folded in goji berries as a final step. The possibilities are endless and these are going to be fun for continued add-in experimentation. The addition of a nut butter helped make my 2nd batch turn out less hardened. These will be great for travel and on hikes!
I have made this excellent recipe enough that I offer these suggestions from experience: 1. Do not skimp on the honey. It is what holds the bars together. If you add more ingredients (because you can and it is awesome) then increase the honey. I have successfully replaced with maple syrup and pomegranate molasses but use honey most of the time. Pomegranate molasses adds a bright note that is nice. 2. Additions are awesome: seeds, nuts, dried fruit, coconut are all great and add variety. 3. The true best thing I have learned is that I sub white chocolate and butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate. I don’t understand why or how, but it makes them outrageously better. 4. When I pour the mixture into the pan, I put another piece of parchment paper on top and then press down hard with a book a few times with all my weight. This really helps with bar formation. 5. Let sit for six hours before you cut.
This was OK. Like many other readers the chewiness was lacking. Ended up being more of a crumble/crunch for me. I would use less chocolate chips next time.
As written it was 2 stars. Honey flavor was way too strong. With my modifications it is now 5 stars. I substituted half maple and half corn syrup. Boiled the liquid mixture for four minutes. Added 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa to the dry ingredients. Reduced chocolate chips to 1/4 cup, chopped in food processor. Press mixture firmly into pan. Into oven for just 8 minutes or they get too crunchy. Delicious and addictive, I ate a whole tray in one day!