Granola Bars

I personally love granola bars. They make for easy grab-and-go breakfasts and snacks. I recently decided to make my own homemade recipe with a few simple ingredients. These fresh bars are sweet, salty, and both perfectly crunchy and chewy. These little creations are affordable to make. The ingredients do the work in this recipe. All you need to do is mix, chill, and enjoy your tasty bars!

Fresh Medjool dates are the base of these bars and deserve all the yummy credit. Dates have numerous health benefits including a rich vitamin content including Vitamin A, Vitamin K, thiamin, and riboflavin. Dates are also high in fiber, making them a great fruit to be consumed for digestive relief. Spreading fresh date paste on bread or swirled into yogurt are great ways to make a sweet snack from the yummy fruit.

Dates blend down to a moist sticky base which binds the granola bars together well. I’m a big peanut butter lover, so I added extra peanut butter. I was also sure to use crunchy peanut butter for added chunkiness!

Ingredients

½ c. Rolled oats
½ c. Peanut Butter, salted
1 ½ c. Medjool dates, pitted
1 tbsp. Chia seeds
1tsp. Vanilla extract
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Optional: Chocolate chips

Soak dates in warm water for 10 minutes. Once softened, add the fruit to a food processor and grind down to a paste. The mix will form a moist ball when done. Transfer dates to a large bowl, and mix with peanut butter, vanilla, and chia seeds using a spoon. Next, add oats to the mixture, and stir until ingredients are well incorporated.

Transfer your granola mixture to parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cut into desired bar sizes or small balls. Chill in the refrigerator until the bars have set or approximately 30 minutes. And of course, last but not least – enjoy your tasty creation!
Good luck, and happy cooking!