Chocolate Maple Granola Bars
This is a fun recipe for Chocolate Maple Granola Bars. Get your granola bar fix without having to worry about those hard-to-pronounce ingredients at the grocery store.
With school right around the corner, I thought nothing was better than sharing one of my favorite granola bar recipes. These bars are so easy to make I wouldn’t be surprised if you have most, if not all, the ingredients already!
Crunchy and delicious, and most importantly PACKED with ingredients you actually know, these are perfect for school lunches or a quick snack.
As a kid, I found myself addicted to those hard, brittle granola bars. As an adult, I value my oral health and realize that I probably shouldn’t attempt to break my teeth on one of those bad boys.
Not to mention, I tend to stay away from the center aisles in the grocery store. The good news is these bars break pretty easily. While super sweet and crunchy, you’ll never have to worry about replacing those fillings.
Though they look complicated, granola bars are surprisingly easy to make. You can even invite the kids in the kitchen with this one! Just melt the butter and sugar together, then mix, smush, and bake your way to homemade goodness.
And the kids will enjoy showing off their creations to their classmates!
Parents of kids with allergies, rejoice! This recipe is also very easily adaptable to fit your needs. If you’ve never read the ingredients at the store, or if you’re like me and are very fortunate to not have to, you’ll be surprised to hear that SO many things are not gluten-free, or they contain soy or nut ingredients.
These bars do contain peanut butter in the chocolate drizzle, but that is just my taste. Coconut oil is a very good substitute. You can also find oats that are gluten-free. (Pro-tip: sneak in some healthy ingredients the kids wont pick up on, like flax seeds or chia seeds)
Mine came out a little darker than usual, so if yours are a bit lighter, don’t be discouraged! I just got distracted during baking. Whoops!
Storing these in a plastic bag in a cool, dry place will keep them at their freshest. Pack them in individual snack bags now to save time during the rest of the week!
Until next time. X
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Chocolate Maple Granola Bars
This is a fun recipe for Chocolate Maple Granola Bars. Get your granola bar fix without having to worry about those hard-to-pronounce ingredients at the grocery store.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 15-20 1" bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease and line a 9 x 13″ pan with parchment paper, leaving a little extra on the sides. You’ll want enough to pull the bars out later but not so much that it hangs over and falls into the mixture.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar is no longer grainy. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder, salt and coconut.
- Add the butter mixture and combine.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Use your fingers or a lightly oiled rubber spatula to press the mixture into the pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool for 20 minutes and then remove the entire sheet using the parchment paper. You may need to loosen the sides with a knife.
- Cut them into narrow bars.
- Combine the chocolate chips and the peanut butter (or coconut oil) in a small bowl. Microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until melted. Drizzle over the bars and enjoy!
Notes
tools
- 9 x 13″ pan
- parchment paper
- small saucepan
- medium mixing bowl
- rubber spatula (optional)
- large knife
- small bowl
Substituting quick-cooking rolled oats is fine, but stay away from instant oatmeal. It alters the taste and texture of this recipe.
Store in plastic bags in a cool, dry place.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
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