October 24, 2013

Almond-Butter Granola Bars

Easy?.... Yes!
Quick?.... Yes!
Tasty?.... Yes!
Healthy?.... Yes!
Vegan?.... Yes!

Oats, dates, nuts, honey, almond butter.. just 5 ingredients and 10 mins of your time!!



Sugar?.... No!
Gluten?.... No!
Eggs?.... No!
Baking?.... No!
Cooking?.... No!

No Chemicals, No Preservatives, No Artificial colors! Home-made healthy to-go bars, in a snap!!


Toss in all the dry ingredients....
Whisk together the wet ingredients...
Mix well to combine...
Shape...
Set...
Eat...

Easiest recipe ever!! No sweating.. no stretching.. no kidding!!


Peanut butter?.. Okay!
Almond butter?.. Okay!
Almonds? .. Okay!
Pecans? .. Okay!
Walnuts?.. Okay!
Peanuts?.. Okay!
A mix of above? .. Double okay!

The most forgiving recipe ever!! Give (or) take .. it still tastes great!!


Roast oats or... may be not, roast nuts or.... may be not,
Throw in some dried fruits .. raisins, cranberries or anything ..
No choco-chips.. that's okay! Even better.. replace it with some m&m's .. or some jelly .. whatever that you like ...

Just play with this recipe with your favorites and personalize it .. just for yourself ... because you 're SPECIAL!! It is sweet, nutty, crunchy and above all, kids will go crazy about it.. 

Try this and you 'll LOVE it, for sure! And, don't forget to say "Bye-bye" to all those over-priced store-brought branded bars!!


Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 25 mins
Cook time - NA
Serves - 10 - 15 bars

Adapted from minimalistbaker

Ingredients
Dried Pitted dates - 1 cup (packed)
Rolled oats - 1.5 cups
Semi-sweet choco chips - 1/4 cup
Honey - 1/4 cup (vegan option: replace it with maple syrup)
Almond butter - 1/4 cup
Almonds - 3/4 cup (slivered / whole / broken)
Coconut oil - 2-3 tsp

Method
Use a food processor / mixer and grind dates into very fine pieces. It is perfectly fine if there are few or more larger pieces left. Set aside until use.

In a pan, dry roast oats until crisp & fragrant. Set it aside.

Dry roast almonds until crisp & fragrant. Set it aside.

Take a large bowl, and mix dates, oats, almonds, choco chips until well combined.

Heat honey & almond butter in a small pan until they loosen up & mix. This will take about a min (or) even lesser. To this add coconut oil and give a stir.

Pour this honey/almond butter mixture over oats/dates mixture and combine well. Use your hands, for they are the best when it comes to mixing!

Transfer this mixture to a shallow pan lined with wax/parchment paper. Cover with another wax paper and use your hands to spread, press, flatten & shape into a tight square of about 1/2 inch thick.

Still covered, pop them into freezer for about 15 mins (or) until set. Take it out of the freezer and use a knife to cut it into 10-15 bars of equal length.

Transfer the bars into air-tight container (or) sealed ziploc bags and store it in refrigerator until use.

Fresh, healthy, home-made, on-the-go granola bars are ready!