Chocolate Trail Mix Granola Bars No Bake Recipes

EASY NO-BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line a 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to fit neatly against the base and up the sides. The parchment paper will make it easy for you to slice the bars later.
• Place the oats in a large mixing bowl**. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Now we'll blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor or blender (or, you can chop them by hand). Add any large nuts (like almonds or pecans) first and blitz for a few seconds. Then add the rest and run the machine for a few more seconds, until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky nail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
• In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Stir until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it's close to room temperature before you pour it into the dry mixture (this is especially important if using chocolate, since it will melt).
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it! If the mixture was easy to mix together, that's a sign that you need to add some more oats-sprinkle in more oats until you can't incorporate any more.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
• Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight. (The oats need time to soak up some of the moisture so they aren't sticky.) When you're ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 4 even columns and 4 even rows.
• Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper (if you store them all together, they will stick to one another). Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.

CHOCOLATE TRAIL MIX GRANOLA BARS (NO-BAKE!)

Steps:

• 1. Line a medium dish or cookie sheet with parchment paper (dish size isn't that important since we don't bake the bars). 2. In a medium bowl mix together all ingredients until well combined. 3. Pour granola bar mixture onto parchment lined dish and use fingers to press into a rectangle or square. Make the bars about ½ inch in thickness. 4. Drizzle on melted chocolate and place bars in freezer for 15-30 minutes or until hardened and set. 5. Remove from freezer, cut into bars and enjoy! (Mine made about 10 bars) Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up 5 days, or in freezer for up to 3 months.

CHEWY NO BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Mix rolled oats, steel-cut oats, rice cereal, dried fruit, and almonds together in a large bowl.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add brown sugar, honey, and vanilla extract. Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Pour over oat mixture; stir to combine.
• Spread oat mixture into prepared baking dish. Press chocolate chips into top. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.