Maple granola bars are a delicious and nutritious snack made with rolled oats, maple syrup, and various other ingredients.
Making granola bars at home offers several benefits, including:
- Customization: When you make granola bars at home, you have full control over the ingredients. This means you can customize the recipe to suit your taste preferences and dietary restrictions. You can choose the types of nuts, dried fruits, sweeteners, and flavorings that you like.
- Nutritional Control: Homemade granola bars allow you to use high-quality, wholesome ingredients. You can reduce or eliminate unhealthy additives, preservatives, and excess sugars often found in store-bought options. This enables you to create a healthier snack tailored to your nutritional needs.
- Freshness: Homemade granola bars are made fresh, ensuring that you’re consuming a product at its peak flavor and nutritional value. You can also control the freshness of the ingredients you use.
- Cost Savings: Making granola bars at home can be more cost-effective than buying pre-packaged ones. You can purchase ingredients in bulk and make multiple batches, saving money in the long run.
- Reduced Packaging Waste: Pre-packaged granola bars often come with excessive packaging, contributing to environmental waste. By making your own, you can use reusable containers or minimal packaging, reducing your environmental footprint.
- Allergen Management: If you or someone in your family has food allergies or sensitivities, making granola bars at home allows you to select ingredients that are safe and allergen-free, reducing the risk of accidental exposure.
- Freshness and Texture Control: Homemade granola bars can be made to your preferred level of crunchiness or chewiness. You can adjust cooking times and ingredients to achieve the texture you desire.
- Variety: Homemade granola bars offer endless flavor variations. You can experiment with different ingredients, such as spices, chocolate chips, coconut, or seeds, to create unique flavor profiles.
- Satisfaction: There’s a sense of satisfaction that comes from creating your own snacks and knowing exactly what goes into them. It can be a fun and rewarding cooking project.
- Portion Control: Making your own granola bars allows you to cut them into the desired portion sizes, helping with portion control and reducing the risk of overindulging.
- Freshness and Longevity: Homemade granola bars can stay fresh for an extended period if stored properly, giving you a convenient and nutritious snack option readily available at home.
Overall, making maple granola bars at home offers numerous advantages in terms of customization, nutrition, cost, and environmental impact. It’s a practical and healthy choice for those looking to enjoy a wholesome snack while maintaining control over the ingredients they consume.
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Homemade Maple Granola Bars
Yield:
9 servings
Prep Time:
5 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
35 minutes
Maple granola bars are a delicious and nutritious snack made with rolled oats, maple syrup, and various other ingredients. They are often homemade or store-bought and can be enjoyed as a quick breakfast, on-the-go snack, or a healthy treat.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cups cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cups almond butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cups raisins
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons flax seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, syrup, coconut oil, almond butter, vanillla extract, pupmkin seeds, raisins, chia seeds, flax seed, cinnamon, and salt.
- Press the mixture into the baking dish as evenly as possible.
- Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden on the edges.
- Let cool completely in the pan then cut into 9 rectangle pieces.*
Notes
*Granola bars will keep for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.