Cookie And Kate Granola Bars

July 14, 2022

These granola bars are delicious and easy to make with basic pantry ingredients.These granola bars can pass as a quick breakfast, and they make a perfect snack.I love to pack these bars for road trips and flights, and I love hearing from moms who make these granola bars regularly for their kids.As you’ll see, the recipe is versatile, so you can easily incorporate your favorite flavors, like nuts, chocolate and dried fruit.You’ll find my go-to flavorings in the recipe below if you want to follow my lead.Nut butter helps hold these bars together, and offers protein, healthy fat and fiber.Dates offer additional fiber, while honey or maple syrup do not.Nuts: Pecans, walnuts, almonds, or peanuts would all work well.Any fruit larger than a raisin will need to be broken up a bit more—either in the food processor or chopped by hand.Here are some variations on this granola bar recipe that I’ve come up with over the years.These granola bars are quite simple to make, especially if you have a food processor (affiliate link).It’s easy to throw all of your mix-ins into the food processor and blitz a few times.Use a sturdy, flat-bottomed jar to make sure the mixture is pressed down completely.You might then press down with your hands to ensure it’s not trying to sneak up the sides or corners.The oats need some time to soak up the moisture in the nut butter and sweetener.Chill the mixture for at least one hour (or as long as a day) before slicing.Try my favorite granola recipe, sweet and spicy roasted nuts, stovetop popcorn, or view a wide variety of snacks here. .

Healthy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Then my friend Sara (whom I met through the blog) texted me the ingredients list for a granola bar and requested that I recreate them.I trust Sara’s taste in granola bars and thought I’d better give these a shot, so I stopped at the nearest Kaldi’s Coffee shop to pick one up.I tasted honey, sea salt, dark chocolate, oats and cinnamon all at once—each flavor teetered on the edge of overwhelming the others yet somehow the sum was perfectly balanced.I’ve been using unsalted Trader Joe’s almond butter, which is nice and spreadable, plus I can control the salt content.I like my bars a little salty (and therefore totally addictive), so I go with the full 3/4 teaspoon, but you might want to scale back to suit your preferences. .

Healthy Granola Recipe

This granola makes a wonderful snack or breakfast (add your milk of choice and maybe some fresh fruit).You just can’t beat freshly baked granola packed with delicious and good-for-you ingredients.Now that you have my base recipe, you can play around with the mix-ins and spices to make it your favorite granola.By the way, you can preserve that freshly baked flavor by storing this granola in the freezer.I used pecans and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) to make this batch.Other options include walnuts, which are rich in Omega-3s, whole or slivered almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds.As a bonus, these natural sweeteners infuse your granola extra-delicious flavor that sugar would not.Dried fruit lends some extra sweetness, chewy texture and irresistible fruity flavor.You can add chocolate chips after the granola has completely cooled (otherwise, they’ll melt).I recommend using a basic half sheet pan (affiliate link) for this granola recipe.It’s the perfect size and the rimmed edges make sure no granola falls overboard.For maximum clumps, gently press down on the granola with the back of a spatula after stirring the mixture at the half-way baking point.Even with all those techniques in place, I occasionally end up with a batch of granola that isn’t as clumpy as my others, for reasons that I can’t explain.Over the years, I’ve played around with it to create a bunch of fun variations.Honey Almond Granola: Just what it sounds like, plus chopped dried apricots! .

Almond Coconut Granola Bars

They kept my blood sugar levels stable, and kept me from turning into a cranky, hypoglycemic mess.I can attest that these no-bake bars, which are made with oats, nuts, and coconut, and naturally sweetened with honey (or maple syrup) are some effective, energy-rich treats.They would also be great snacks for lunch bags and hungry kids who have just arrived home from school. .

Pecan Granola Bars Recipe

I inherited her eyes, her name (hence the ‘e’ at the end of Kathryne), her sweet tooth, and her love for pecans, among others.I started by toasting the pecans on the stove (I’m not turning on the oven unless absolutely necessary this summer).Add some maple syrup, cinnamon, oats, and chopped toasted pecans, and you’ve made a batch of wholesome and delicious homemade granola bars.I haven’t heard much about pecan nutrition in the past, probably because the council didn’t exist yet to spread the word.Compared with most other nuts, they’re higher in fiber and lower in carbohydrates, which means that these pecan bars will keep you fueled for a while.Pecan Granola Bars Print save Author: Cookie and Kate.Cuisine: American ★★★★★ 4.9 from 24 reviews These homemade pecan granola bars are a delicious snack or breakfast!1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract Instructions Line a 9-inch square baker with one strip of parchment paper, cut to fit neatly across the base.In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon, and salt, and stir to blend.If you have made pecan butter for this recipe*, add the maple syrup and vanilla to your food processor or blender and blend to combine.Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain.Conversely, if you used a super thick nut butter, you might need to drizzle in another tablespoon of honey to help it all stick together.Cover the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) with a strip of parchment paper (see photo) and pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.When you’re ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both both ends of the parchment paper.This post was created in partnership with the American Pecan Council and I received compensation for my participation. .

Cranberry Orange Granola Bars

I am perched on a cushy hotel bed, with a window overlooking TriBeCa on my left and a bag of homemade granola bars to my right.The United Nations designated 2016 to be the International Year of Pulses (think beans, chickpeas and lentils) for their significant health, economic and environmental benefits.Wholesome, honey-sweetened, cranberry-orange granola bars made with lots of healthy whole grains, nuts and seeds.I’ll share my New York adventures on Snapchat today (I’m @cookieandkate), if you’d like to follow along. .

Baked Oatmeal Recipe with Blueberries

She starts pouncing on me every evening as the sun goes down, in her persistent, borderline desperate, but always cute sort of way.I got a big slap on the wrist for it last week, when I was photographing food and had to pause and sit down for a while.As a reminder to eat breakfast, I made some blueberry baked oatmeal for the week.This baked oatmeal recipe is loaded with wholesome ingredients—oats, nuts, maple syrup and blueberries.A couple of eggs bind it all together, and a light drizzle of butter on top makes it taste like a treat.This baked oatmeal keeps me full all morning long, especially when I serve it with a big dollop of Greek yogurt.I think an apple version would be great in the fall, and raspberry-banana might be fun with cashews and coconut milk in the summer.Like, the Fair Trade ceylon cinnamon that I used in this recipe came from a co-op of farmers in Sri Lanka.The vanilla comes from Madagascar, where Frontier helped dig 49 wells to provide clean water to nearly 25,000 people.Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Print save Author: Cookie and Kate.Cuisine: American ★★★★★ 4.6 from 357 reviews This naturally sweetened baked oatmeal recipe features blueberries (or any fruit you’d like), wholesome oats, nuts and warming spices.melted unsalted butter or coconut oil, divided 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.or 1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries (or of your preferred berry/fruit, chopped into ½” pieces if necessary), divided 2 teaspoons raw sugar (optional).raw sugar (optional) Optional toppings for serving: plain/vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, additional maple syrup or honey for drizzling, and/or additional fresh fruit Instructions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet.In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, toasted nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup or honey, egg, half of the butter or coconut oil, and vanilla.I prefer this baked oatmeal served warm, but it is also good at room temperature or chilled. .