Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
Delicious treats for healthy snacking plus FREE printable labels!
Homemade granola bars recipe is really simple but it tastes divine! I wonder why I’ve never made these before. I’ve tried oats bars once but they came out dry and quite crumbly so I wasn’t particularly keen to make them again. However, then I came across a delicious recipe full of nuts and dried fruits in no added sugar. It was a win - simple to make, pretty much using 5 simple ingredients! And that’s the homemade granola bars recipe we’ll be making today.
I’m not sure about you but I like the idea of granola bars without sugar and chocolate. If you’re a chocolate lover you can definitely add it to this recipe! Common option are chocolate chips, however I try to swap these ingredients for healthier option where I can. If possible, it’s great to replace chocolate chips with dried dates or high-quality no sugar cocoa powder. Also, sugar or sirup can be replaced with organic honey. I don’t think there is much difference in terms of calories, but perhaps the natural nature of the ingredients. Let’s use 5 simple and affordable ones and make this delicious treat! Plus - I have prepared a FREE Printable labels so you can easily wrap the treats as a gift!
Tip:
To bake anything from desserts to meat and vegetables to homemade bread - I LOVE to use the clay baking dish. This pot has been one of the best assets in my kitchen. I prepare literally everything in it from sweet to savory dishes. Initially, I was hesitant to use it because it comes with a long instruction list and I thought it looked really fragile. However, the use is actually very simple, the prepared food delicious and it’s surprisingly easy to clean.
The two key aspects of a clay baking dish is moisture and no temperature shocks. Very straigt forward actually! The moisture means that before using the dish you need to soak both the base and the lid in cold water for about 30 minutes. This is to ensure that the clay doesn’t crack in high temperatures and the water it absorbs creates this semi-steamy cooking climate. It keeps the food moist and you will hardly need to add any water to vegetables or meat to stop it from burning. No temperature shocks are again to protect the clay. It means that the pot should always be placed in a cold oven, never pre-heated. Also, if ever you need to add any water while baking it needs to be hot, never cold. Once the clay pot heats up, adding cold water would cause a temperature shock causing a crack.
In short, this is what the instructions say and I’ve had no issues so far. The clay dish is by far one of my most favourite kitchen tools! And I’ll also be baking the homemade granola bars on the lid.
Did you enjoy this homemade project? Save it for later to one of your ‘Natural & Homemade’ or ‘DIY’ Pinterest boards!
More delicious homemade recipes:
- Lavender Honey Ice-cream
- Edible Flower Biscuits
- Marinated Camembert Cheese
- Healthy Homemade Grapefruit Lemonade
- Easy Homemade Bread
- Homemade White Chocolate with Lilac Flowers
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Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
Preparation time: 10 minutes preparation, 20 minutes baking
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 5 tbl spoons of crushed oats
- 3 - 4 tbl spoons of cashew nuts/sliced almonds/pistachios (whatever nuts you enjoy)
- 2 tbl spoons of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, pine nuts)
- dried fruit - 6 dried apricots and 6 dried dates
- 3 tbl spoons of organic honey
- 1 apple (optional)
- a pinch of salt
- baking paper and a baking tray (as mentioned above I am using the clay baking dish)
- FREE Printable snack bag label
Instructions
To make these delicious homemade granola bars, begin by peeling an apple. Cut it in small pieces and boil in 3 - 4 tbl spoons of water until soft. Once the apple is cooked, blend it into a semi-runny puree or crush with a fork.
Mix all seeds and nuts in a large bowl, add oats and dried fruit cut in small pieces. Then add all honey, the apple puree and a pinch of salt. Mix all ingredients together until all nuts, oats and seeds are moist.
Prepare the baking tray and place in a sheet of a baking paper. Add the moist mixture onto the baking paper and spread with clean fingers. The layer should be approx. 3 cm high and idelally touch the sides. This will allow you to press the mixture firmly together, avoiding it to crumble all over the baking paper sheet. Pressing the mixture until hard is very important. This step will help form the base that the bars will later be cut into.
Place the tray into a pre-heated oven and bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. When you see the nuts turning golden it’s time to take the tray out and let it cool down. Once it’s cool, take a large knife and cut the layer into small bars.
If you’re giving the homemade granola bars as a gift - turn the healthy snack into beautifully looking bag of treats by using the free printable labels!
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