Chewy-Ewwy Granola Energy Bar

Submitted by Annie Made

"This is a modified energy bar from Mollie Katzen's Protein Bar recipe, found at {http://www.fabulousfoods.com}. I try to steer clear from dairy as often as possible and it was tough finding a granola/energy bar recipe that didn't use milk or yogurt. So I kinda took what I liked from this recipe and left what I didn't and added a few other things. It's a really great tasting bar that is egg-free and dairy free (except for the chocolate chips, use carob chips instead or just omit them altogether if you want a truly vegan bar) and packed with nutrition. They're pretty sweet so if you like a less sweet bar use less sugar, choose a less sweet nut butter, and/or substitute dried fruit and chocolate chips for nuts and carob chips. Eat one fresh out of the oven then freeze the rest in freezer zip-bags. Just make sure to defrost or warm them before eating. They're great for breakfast, gym snacks, workday pick-me-ups, and even after-school snacks (I'd bake them in a cookie shape for the latter purpose)."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Yields: 24 bars
• Serves: 24

ingredients

• 2 cups oats
• 1⁄2 cup oat bran
• 1⁄2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1⁄2 cup ground almonds
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3⁄8 cup sunflower seeds
• 1⁄8 cup flax seed
• 1⁄2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1⁄2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 medium bananas, about 1 1/2 cups mashed
• 1⁄2 cup natural-style peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and prepare a cookie sheet, either use a non-stick or spray a traditional sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Mash bananas in peel and set aside. This lets the natural sugars develop.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. First toss oats, oat bran, whole wheat flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Add brown sugar and be sure to integrate it evenly in the mixture, use your CLEAN hands. Next throw in the sunflower and flax seeds, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.
4. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, warm the peanut butter. Slowly add mashed bananas, stirring constantly and further mashing any banana meat that needs it. Add vanilla extract and leave on lowest heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. You don't want the butter and bananas to burn.
5. Add the banana mixture to the dry mixture and stir (or knead) until the two are fully integrated. It should create a sort of nutty dough.
6. Form the dough into 24 bars or logs approximately the size of store-bought granola bars. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the bars in for another 25 minutes.
7. Enjoy one or two and freeze the remainder in freezer bags.

Reviews

[weekend cooker]

YUM YUM YUM .. We loved these.. other than leaving out the cranberries, made as posted making for a great after school treat. Ended up with some nice soft, and chewy treats. Made for PAC Spring 2012.

 

[jennyblender]

Yum! These are great! I basically made them exactly as written except i used walnuts instead of almonds and they came out great, crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. I was pretty worried when forming them into bars because they were pretty watery and I didn't think they would firm up, but they did! So have no fear, these are great!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!

 

[buds mom]

great bars, very easy to adapt to individual tastes. my dh who hates peanut butter loved these and asked for me to make them again! I made these a while ago so i can't recall all the adjustments i made, but i know i added pumpkin seeds & sesame seeds to the sunflower seeds & ground almonds as i didn't have enough. These froze really well. next time i will make some smaller bars too as these really fill you up

 

[jerseagrl]

Yummers! Although I made a few alterations to the original recipe based on my taste preferences and what I had available (pecans instead of almonds, wheat germ instead of flax seed, 2 bananas=1 cup + 1/2 cup yogurt instead of just bananas, no cranberries, approx. 3/8 cup chips and rest coconut flakes, and a dash of almond extract), I have to say that they are great! They hold together well, are super yummy, and are much healthier than commercial granola bars (chock full of preservatives... ewww!) Right now I'm waiting for them to cool, but I plan on freezing some and taking them to school with me for lunch. Thanks for a great recipe!