I recently stumbled across these “nutty bits” from Trader Joe’s, a variety of delicious tree nuts are covered in 60% dark chocolate and sea salt, kinda tastes like toffee. They were great, but I had to find a way to make them healthier so I could eat them more often :3.
Now they’re not terrible for you, but my ideal granola bar would definitely consist of more natural ingredients. I decided to use local raw wildflower honey, brown rice syrup, and unrefined coconut oil for the wet base. These “nutty bits” took a turn in the granola bite direction as there was too much wet mix in the end. I figured adding in some oats wouldn’t hurt, thus granola bar. The sugars from the honey and brown rice syrup were enough for me so I created these sans chocolate coating, but added in some cacao nibs instead. Feel free to add in chocolate chips, or even dip ’em in chocolate for a more dessert-type bar if you please.
I would love to add hemp seeds in here, feel free to do so if you are so fortunate to have ’em. Same goes with cereal, dried fruit, coconut flakes, or other crunchy delight that pleases your senses. I used a combination of walnuts, almonds, and pepitas, but any nuts shall suffice in this treat.
These make a great little energy-providing snack, perfect for bike rides or a treat between a hectic day on campus.
Thanks to the coconut oil, they kinda melt in your mouth as you chew ’em. A nice, crunchy and melty snack I suppose.
Sweet & salty & supa tasty.
I have been wanting to post this recipe for quite some time but haven’t had much time lately :/. Exciting new and busy first semester of my food science & human nutrition degree. && Oh organic chem. has definitely settled in and made itself cozy in my life…
Ingredients:
Dry:
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 walnuts, halved
2/3 cup pepitas
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2-1 cup old-fashioned oats (more or less on preference and for wet/dry balance if necessary)
1/4 cup cacao nibs or chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 tsp salt (totally optional, but adds a nice flava. I used pink himalayan salt)
Wet:
1/2 cup local honey
1 tbsp brown rice syrup
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl
2. In a small separate bowl, mix together honey, coconut oil, brown rice syrup, and vanilla.
3. Using your preferred method, slightly heat up mixture until coconut oil is melted and mixture has thinned a bit (stove top, microwave, or double boiler method all shall work). Heat on low and watch carefully, as to not overheat the mixture.
4. Pour honey mixture over nuts and mix until all is coated
5. Transfer wet nut mixture into a 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper and spread evenly/press down mixture into pan
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Oats should be toasty, slightly brown.
7. Top with more cacao nibs (this way you eat them raw. Optional) Press mixture down with a spatula once out of oven. It will harden up as it cools!!! (Esp. in the fridge)
8. Let cool and place in fridge. Cut into squares/shapes when desired.
9. Store in a air-tight container in the fridge. They last really well and get better overtime.
Enjoy friends
Thank you for this! I also wanted to make the TJ’S nutty bits, but healthier, but never got around to figuring out the recipe. Thanks for saving me the effort! Can’t wait to make them ASAP. :)
Yeah, no problemo :) I gobbled these up too quickly, wish I had more.
Let me know what you think
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. Thank you so much for posting it … I had been looking for an easy granola bar recipe for so long. So glad I came across this…
I did a little tweaks to add some of my boyfriends favourites, you can check it you here …
http://blog.anatavares.com/2013/09/homemade-granola-bar-recipe.html
Thank you so much for the post again!
xox
Hi Ana! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’m going to check out your recipe right now, thanks for visiting :)
These look SO good. Might just get me to turn on the oven, despite the super hot weather. ;) xx
:) :) Finally a cold front where I live, feels like winter. Well at least to a Floridian…
These are quite possibly the most delicious granola bars ever! So simple and quick to make too – just perfect, thank you!
Glad you find them suiting :) Definitely try to make my recipes easy and healthy..Thank YOU!
Do these bars have to be refrigerated? I am looking to make granola bars for a friend who is going on a two week long backpacking trip this summer. They will be packing light which means no coolers. I’m not sure if the coconut oil would melt or if it will hold its form after baking. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Hey Samuela,
Great question. Yeah these would need to be refrigerated because of the coconut oil melting mehhh. I could see them being more of granola pieces to add to yogurt or milk if they were not stored in the fridge, still definitely yumm. If you want to experiment, I’d say keep the honey, replace the coconut oil with another veg oil, maybe add more oats. You could try these: http://theroadnotprocessed.com/2012/07/16/mocha-chip-larabars/
they are my favorite energy bar. I’m not sure how well their shape would hold up in super hot weather, but they pack pretty tightly and are just dried dates and nuts so probably give you more luck. I’ve brought these on road trips and I was happy with them, I’m not too picky about perfect composition though, it’s more about wholesome ingredients to me.
Let me know how everything turns out!