Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars – Challenge Meal Plan

These home made Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars are a easy nostalgic make-ahead snack, full with dried fruit, nuts, almond butter, and sweetened with maple syrup. Straightforward, soft-baked bars that have been made for meal prep!

What are the substances in these Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars?

Nothing fancy right here, just a few pantry staples and almond butter! When you preserve snacks like nuts and dried fruit readily available, you may have already got all the pieces you might want to make these! Listed below are the substances I used to make these granola bars, and a bit of information on every:

• rolled oats – That is the principle star of the present! BUT, I guess you’ve by no means turned them into flour earlier than! Utilizing oats to make a flour-like powder helps bind all the pieces collectively, whereas retaining that essential oat taste intact.
• advantageous sea salt – The entire sweetness and nuts require a little bit of salt to steadiness all the pieces out! Salted nuts are all the time higher, proper? Identical for granola bars!
• floor cinnamon – I’m a cinnamon lover, however you don’t must be to take pleasure in this recipe. You possibly can fortunately alter/decrease the cinnamon quantity as you would like. I all the time use the max quantity!!
• pecans – I feel pecans are significantly good for this recipe due to how tender and oily they’re. Chopping them up a bit helps create smaller items that are higher at holding along with all the pieces else.
• dried cranberries & raisins – I really like the flavour of each collectively, however if you happen to solely have considered one of these dried fruits, I feel that might be completely advantageous too. Roughly chopping makes extra of the sticky insides uncovered which helps all the pieces maintain collectively.
• almond butter – Each Costco and Dealer Joe’s make an superior drippy almond butter that work nice for this recipe.
• coconut oil – Melted coconut oil helps the bars brown within the oven and retains them held collectively, which is why retaining these bars within the fridge helps preserve them agency (coconut oil corporations up within the fridge!).
• pure maple syrup – At all times go for pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. It’s most likely a bit costlier, however the taste and high quality is value it.

Tools you’ll must make Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars:

Listed below are my suggestions on gear and instruments you’ll must make this recipe:

• mixing bowls – In nearly each considered one of my recipes, I take advantage of these a number of items of this 8-Piece Pyrex Sculptured Mixing Bowl Set. All of those bowls are long-lasting, dependable, and straightforward to wash.
• an 8×8 metallic baking pan – You’ll want an 8×8 metallic baking pan for this recipe. Any model will work 🙂
• storage container – You’ll want an oblong container with lid to simply retailer these bars. My desire is that this 6-piece Pyrex Rectangular Container Set (affiliate hyperlink!)!

The best way to make Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars:

These bars are so easy to make! A traditional state of affairs of blending dry substances, then moist substances, combining them collectively and baking. Listed below are my particular directions for every step of the way in which:

Begin by preheating the oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with two items of baking parchment, one in every route. Go away brief flaps over every edge so you possibly can simply elevate the granola bars out for slicing. You possibly can see this pictured under!

For the oat flour, measure out 1/2 cup of the oats from the overall of the recipe. Use a bullet blender or food processor to blitz the oats right into a advantageous flour. This capabilities as our flour for the recipe and helps all the pieces stick collectively.

Subsequent, it’s time to mix the dry substances. In a big mixing bowl, stir collectively the oats, oat flour, salt and cinnamon (use 1/2 teaspoon for a touch of cinnamon, and as much as 1 teaspoon for a robust cinnamon taste). Stir within the chopped pecans, cranberries and raisins.

I want to cut all of those substances to assist expose extra sticky interiors of the dried fruit and create smaller items that may extra simply stick collectively. You possibly can roughly chop all of those collectively on a reducing board earlier than beginning the recipe, if that’s simpler for you!

In a smaller bowl, or liquid measuring cup, whisk collectively the almond butter, melted coconut oil and maple syrup till easy. In case your almond butter is a bit of stiff, soften the coconut oil in a small saucepan as a substitute of the microwave, after which whisk within the almond butter. It should soften a bit of within the residual warmth from the pan and mix easily with the opposite moist substances.

Pour the moist substances into the dry, and stir nicely with a rubber spatula till the dry substances are utterly coated with the moist combination. When you’ve ever made granola earlier than, this half will really feel related!

Scrape the combination into the ready pan. Utilizing the again of a measuring cup or related, pack it and press it down as a lot as you possibly can, ensuring to give attention to the perimeters and the corners probably the most. Bake for 20-25 minutes till set and golden brown. 

Permit your complete pan to chill utterly on the counter earlier than transferring to the fridge for at the very least half-hour to set additional. That is a kind of recipes the place it doesn’t assist to chop them early – they may collapse if you happen to do!

As soon as the pan is utterly chilled, switch to a reducing board and slice into 12 bars, or extra smaller, snackable squares if you want. I very a lot want the feel of them after being chilled!

Greatest ideas for making home made granola bars:

Listed below are my greatest ideas for making this recipe efficiently in your individual kitchen:

• Once we say press the combination down, we imply PRESS the combination down! To kind bars that maintain collectively, you might want to actually get in there and press the combination till it’s as flat as might be.
• Don’t slice earlier than they cool. It’s a must to give the bars an opportunity to set additional within the fridge. This offers the coconut oil and likelihood to agency up and preserve the bars collectively!
• Don’t skip chopping the dried fruit and nuts. This step helps expose all of the sticky elements of the dried fruit, which in flip helps the bars stick collectively higher!

Methods to customise these granola bars:

A nutty dried fruit vibe is such a traditional taste combo for granola bars, however there are such a lot of extra prospects. As a common rule, you’ll want about 1 1/2 cups add-ins, ideally chopped. Listed below are three alternative ways to customise these granola bars to suit your personal tastes:

• As a substitute of raisins, add a full cup of dried cranberries, then prime with a white chocolate drizzle.
• Swap the nuts or do a mixture – simply you’ll want to add not more than 1/2 cup nuts complete.
• Take away the dried cranberries and add some chopped/dried apple slices. Cinnamon apple is considered one of my fave combos!

The best way to meal prep this recipe:

It is a make-ahead pleasant snack, for positive! When you end making the recipe and the bars are chilled, gently switch the reduce granola bars to an oblong meals storage container with lid. Place a bit of parchment paper between layers to assist preserve bars from sticking to one another. Benefit from the granola bars throughout the subsequent 7 days!

Are these granola bars freezer pleasant?

I’d not advocate freezing these granola bars, as they’re prone to be a bit dry and crumbly after freezing and thawing.

The best way to retailer Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars:

Retailer granola bars in an oblong hermetic container with lid, layers separated by a bit of parchment paper, as pictured above. For very best quality, retailer within the fridge for as much as 7 days.

Recipe developed by Rachel Phipps.