Chewy Peanut Butter Fruit And Nut Granola Bars Recipes

CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER FRUIT AND NUT GRANOLA BARS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment and pour the oats on so that they are spread evenly. Toast the oats for 25-30 minutes or until golden and toasty. On a separate pan, toast all the nuts for 18-20 and on a third separate pan, toast the seeds for 15-20 minutes or until golden and toasty. We want to keep the nuts and sunflower seeds separated as the nuts will be chopped and the sunflower seeds need to remain whole. (round cake pans work well here).
• Line a 13"x9" baking dish with parchment paper. Secure the parchment paper to the two long sides with clips.
• While the nuts, seeds and oats are toasting, rough chop the cranberries and apricots. Add them to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• In a 2 quart sauce pan, mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, salt and vanilla extract until all the ingredients come together. Gently warm the mixture on low just until it is pourable. If needed, use a whisk to get the ingredients to come together.
• Add the toasted oats and sunflower seeds to the large mixing bowl with the dried fruit. Rough chop the nuts and add them to the dried fruit/oat/nut mixture in the large mixing bowl.
• Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix throughly.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly in the dish. Use your hands to press the mixture in. The firmer the press, the better!
• Refrigerate the granola for at least 1 1/2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
• Lift the granola out of the pan using the parchment as handles. Cut into 1 1/2" x 4" bars.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freezer for up to a month.
• Mix the cacao and warmed oil in a small bowl. Mix until ingredients are incorporated. Drizzle over the granola bars. Pop in the fridge for a few minutes to allow chocolate to set.

CHEWY, NUTTY, HEALTHY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Stir peanut butter and melted butter together in a bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar, honey, corn syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt; stir. Mix applesauce into peanut butter mixture.
• Combine oats and flour in a bowl; toss to coat oats with flour. Stir peanuts and raisins into oat mixture. Pour peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture; stir to coat completely. Spread mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and continue baking until chocolate melts and edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes more. Spread melted chocolate chips with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to coat the top. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

CHEWY FRUIT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine oats, sugar, oat flour, salt and cinnamon; mix well. Stir in apricots, cherries, coconut, pecans and sunflower kernels; set aside., In another bowl, whisk together honey, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and water. Add the honey mixture to the fruit mixture; mix until crumbly. Pat into a lightly greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Cool in pan for 5 minutes., While still warm, cut into bars. Remove bars to a wire rack to cook completely. Wrap bars individually in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container with parchment paper separating layers.

STARBUCKS CHEWY FRUIT AND NUT BARS

Steps:

• Ingredient note: look in your health food aisle for a healthy alternative to Rice Krispies. The brand I found is made by Enviro-Kidz and uses BROWN rice.
• Prepare 9x13 pan with non-stick spray (or line with parchment paper).
• In a large mixing bowl, toss all dry ingredients. Feel free to substitute your preferred nut or dried fruit.
• In a saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and allow to boil one minute. (Note: boiling the sugars is what helps the bars become firm and not sticky, so this step is important).
• After boiling, turn off heat; add vanilla and peanut butter. QUICKLY pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients and toss to combine.
• Pour warm mixture into prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture down into the pan to compress the bars so they will slice evenly.
• When cool, use a sharp knife to cut into 18 bars (1 long lengthwise cut and 9 cuts across). Enjoy with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee for an authentic experience!
• Note: Starbucks does not list corn syrup in their ingredients, but the sweetener in their list is not readily available. I tried using Maple Syrup, but the bars were very crumbly and would not stay together in bars. Therefore, I found that Corn Syrup is the best ingredient that is readily available.