The grocery shelves are stocked with bar after bar. Sweet, salty, nutty, fruity. You name it, it’s there. Does the world need yet another granola bar? Yes, yes it does! No more plastic wrappers, easy, healthy, and oh so fun to make. Meet my new favorite easy to make and easy to pack snack treat.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup sunflower seed butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (honey works well, too)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 chocolate chips
- 1/2 diced dried apricots
- 1/2 chopped unsalted roasted almonds and pistachios
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix the dry ingredients together. Then, mix the wet ingredients together. If your sunflower seed butter is a bit on the firm side, you may need to briefly heat the mixture of wet ingredients in the microwave, (no more than 30 seconds) Use a wooden spoon and thoroughly stir the wet ingredients into the oat mixture making sure all the oats and nuts are well coated.
Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. The easiest way to do this is by cutting 2 wide strips of paper and overlapping them so they come up on the sides of the dish. Firmly press the granola bar mixture into the dish. I find using the bottom of a sturdy glass to really press the mixture down works very well. Place the dish in the refrigerator and let chill for at least an hour before cutting them. I like wrapping them in parchment paper before packing them in a container to bring on our adventures. A perfect little bite of healthy energy for the beach, mountains, or camping trips.
You can customize these any way you want. As long as you keep the ingredients proportionate, the world is your oyster. Almont butter, cashew butter, peanut butter…whatever nuts or dried fruit you have on hand work.
Threemermaidskitchen 