Super Seedy Granola Bars Recipes

SUPER SEEDY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Toast your oats and almonds in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven for 13-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
• Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a "dough" like consistency (mine rolled into a ball).
• Place oats, almonds and dates in a large mixing bowl. Add seeds and set aside.
• Warm agave and peanut or almond butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout. Use a spoon or your hands to thoroughly mix.
• Transfer to an 8×8 dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily. (Or use 2/3 of a 9×13 // as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size)
• Cover with parchment or plastic wrap and press down with something flat, such as a book, to get them really packed tight. This will help them from being crumbly. Chill in the fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.
• Remove bars from dish and chop into 10 even bars (as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh, but it isn't necessary.

SEED BARS

Steps:

• preheat oven to 325F (300 F if electric oven)
• Mix the seeds and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in vanilla and warm honey, until uniformly combined.
• Place a piece of parchment in an 8 x 8 baking pan ( all the way up the sides too) . Spray lightly with oil.
• Pour seed mix into lightly greased, parchment-lined pan and using a wet metal spatula, spread it out, into corners and edges and press down firmly until you have a compacted, smooth surface at a uniform depth.
• Place on the middle rack in the oven for 40-55 minutes. Check at 25 minutes adjusting heat down to 300F, if edges seem too brown. For a chewy consistency, take out at 40-45 minutes, for a crispier crunchy consistency, let it cook the full 50 -55 minutes. Keep in mind, all ovens are different, so heat may vary. The key is....You want to take them out when they are perfectly golden, before they get too dark. So keep a close eye on them after 40 minutes. If you take them out too early (before they are golden) they may be too chewy and sticky. Pay attention to the color.
• For example, I've cooked these in two different ovens. In the gas oven, 50-55 minutes delivered perfectly golden bars. In the electric oven, 40 minutes were enough for perfectly golden. 55 minutes would have totally burnt them.
• Remove from oven, and cool completely. You could place in the fridge to cool faster. When it's completely cooled, take the parchment out of the pan, turn it over and remove parchment. Flip back over and cut into desired shapes or bars. Store at room temp.

SUPER SEED NO-BAKE CHEWY GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with parchment paper (two layers in either direction to cover both sides of the pan).
• In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients (oats, cereal, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, raisins or chocolate chips, sesame seeds, salt) and then add the wet ingredients (nut or seed butter, brown rice syrup or maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract).
• After mixing, transfer to the prepared baking dish and spread out to an even layer using a spatula or your wet fingers. If you have a pastry roller you can use that to press down firmly and achieve an even layer. I sometimes put a sheet of wax paper on top and roll a small glass on top to help flatten the mixture out evenly.
• Place in freezer for 1 hour..
• Slice into 10 even rectangular bars.
• To store, individually wrap them in portions of the parchment paper (tape to keep together). Store in the freezer and allow to thaw out for a couple minutes at room temperature before enjoying. As they unfreeze they will get softer so don't wait too long to enjoy.

HEALTHY 5-INGREDIENT GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a "dough" like consistency. (Mine rolled into a ball.)
• Optional step: Toast your oats (and almonds if raw) in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Otherwise, leave them raw - I prefer the toasted flavor.
• Place oats, almonds and dates in a large mixing bowl - set aside.
• Warm maple syrup (or agave or honey) and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.
• Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8x8-inch baking dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily. (A loaf pan might work, but will yield thicker bars // adjust size of pan if altering batch size).
• Press down firmly until uniformly flattened - I use something flat, like a drinking glass, to press down and really pack the bars, which helps them hold together better.
• Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let firm up in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars (or 9 squares // as original recipe is written). Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh, but it isn't necessary.

SUPER-SEED SNACK BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8-inch-square pan with parchment paper, leaving extra hanging over 2 sides. Coat the parchment and pan sides with cooking spray.
• Combine tahini and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until just mixed and warmed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt.
• Combine coconut, pepitas, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds in a large bowl. Add the tahini mixture and stir until evenly coated. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan.
• Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Using the overhanging parchment, lift out the uncut squares. Place on a cutting board and cut into 25 squares.

NO BAKE SUPER SEED GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line the bottom and sides of an 8" square pan with plastic wrap and set aside. Place pitted dates, peanut butter (or almond butter), juice, honey and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until puréed and paste-like. Place date mixture in a medium to large bowl. Add 2 cups of the granola bar mix, coconut and cranberries and mix well to combine. Spoon granola bar mixture into your prepared pan and very tightly pack it in. Pull the plastic wrap over the granola bar mixture to cover then refrigerate at least four hours to firm up. Unwrap the granola bar, lift out of pan and set on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut the granola mixture in half. Now cut each half, widthwise, into 6 bars. Spread the remaining granola mix on a plate. Lightly coat each bar with a little bit of the mix. Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy. Refrigerated bars will keep up to a month. Note: Medjool dates are available in our Produce Department. If using almond butter in this recipe and it is overly thick, you may need to add a little more to help these bars hold together. Recipe options: Instead of cranberries, try another dried fruit in these bars, such as blueberries or cherries.

SUPER SEED GRANOLA BAR

Steps:

• Place one oven rack at the topmost oven position and preheat oven to 350*.
• On a cookie sheet, mix together and spread out the oats, chia buckwheat groats (or super seed ancient grains from Trader Joes), sunflower seeds and sliced almonds. Roast in the preheated oven, on the top rack, for 15 minutes. Check every 5 minutes during this process and stir the mixture around to get even roasting and prevent burning.
• While the grain mixture is roasting, slice open the dates, discard the pits. Place cleaned dates in a small food processor and process until they form a thick ball.
• Combine the dates, honey, and almond butter in a large saucepan. Heat on medium to medium high, stirring constantly until a thick sauce is formed. Remove from heat.
• When the oats are finished, and while they are still warm, pour them into the saucepan with the almond butter/date/honey sauce. The warmth of the oats will help mix them with the sauce more easily. Add the protein powder and the vanilla.
• Mix all ingredients until all ingredients thoroughly combined. This is a very dry looking mix. Do not add more liquid or it will not bind together in the next step.
• Spray a square pan 8x8 with nonstick spray. Press the mixture into the pan evenly. Place in Freezer to firm up for 15 minutes.
• Remove from freezer and slice into 12 even pieces. Enjoy!