No-bake recipe for homemade granola bars with chocolate chips and peanut butter, quick, easy, and incredibly healthy snack or dessert. Also, they are vegan-friendly, refined sugar-free,oil-free, and gluten-free.
⅓cupvegan mini chocolate chipssemi-sweet, if using standard chocolate chips chop them up to incorporate easily
⅔cuppure maple syrupor agave syrup
⅓cupalmondsraw, chopped
2/4cuppumpkin seeds (pepitas)raw
⅓cupdried apricotsfinely chopped
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¼teaspoonsea salt
Instructions
First, in a big bowl mix creamy peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Next, stir in oats, chopped almonds, pepitas, dried apricots, mini chocolate chips, and salt. Make sure to chop the mix-ins as small as possible, otherwise, bars won't hold together. The combination may seem dry at first but keep mixing until everything is fully incorporated into a sticky mixture. The mixture may seem dry at first but keep mixing until all ingredients stick and bind to one another. It's best to use your hands for this step.
After that, line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so they can lift out easily (this step is a must, don't skip it).Transfer the mixture to the pan and press with your hands until it is evenly distributed in it. Add a few more chocolate chips on top if you like.It's very important to press the mixture firmly and make it as flat and smooth as possible.
Chill for at least 1 hour and slice into bars. I divided the mixture into 12 bars. You can slice them smaller or bigger if you like. Enjoy it as a high-protein snack, healthy dessert, or breakfast.Keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge or at room temperature or up to 2 months in the freezer.I recommend you store them with a sheet of parchment paper between them or wrap every bar individually so they won't stick together.
Notes
Don't over-measure the nuts, oats, seeds, and other add-ins because the mixture will be too dry and the bars won't stick together.
It's very important to use runny peanut butter so you can form cohesive bars that don't break apart. Also, you can use creamy almond or cashew butter instead of peanut butter.
For the best texture, finely chop the almonds and dried apricots. Us your pepitas are very big, blitz them in the blender first.
This recipe calls for mini chocolate chips, if you use regular-sized chocolate chips chop them up first. If you don't have chocolate chips at hand use finely chopped dark chocolate.
Before pouring the mixture into the pan, cover it completely with parchment paper. Thus you can easily transfer it onto a board and cut it evenly.
Use your hands to FIRMLY press the mixture into the pan so you don't leave any empty space. You can use the back of a measuring cup or glass jar to flatten the surface here. You don't want to end with granola instead of granola bars :)
Instead of dried apricots, you can use dried cranberries or raisins. Swap the almonds with finely chopped hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts. Substitute pepitas with sunflower seeds. Just make sure to maintain the ratios used in the recipe above.