Hello all!
While browsing the Bon Appetit web site as I do every single day for recipes and meal inspo, I fell upon this recipe for nut butter granola bars. The ingredients were incredibly clean, plus the peanut butter sold me! These have to be delicious! So I made them and posted it on my Instagram story and immediately got a bunch of DM’s requesting the recipe. People just love the idea of a homemade granola bar, I guess!
Upon my first bite I got a little dried fruit, the peanut butter and sweetness of the honey, I immediately thought of PB&J and that just won me over and I can’t think of a packaged bar that I prefer!
Notes:
You can sub peanut butter for almond butter but I find these bats need the sweet and saltiness that only peanut butter can supply and the flavour of almond butter is a little too subtle.
I didn’t use the oil except to coat the pan and parchment and the recipe tuned out great 👍🏼
Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
2 cups raw nuts (such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, and/or blanched hazelnuts)
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan
2 cups old-fashioned oats, divided
1¼ cups dried fruit (such as tart cherries, raisins, currants, dates, apricots, and/or blueberries)
¾ cup natural peanut butter
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg white (2 egg whites if on the smaller side)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spread nuts and pumpkin seeds in a 13×9″ baking pan and roast until darkened in color and toasty smelling, 10–12 minutes. Transfer nuts and seeds to a food processor and let sit until cool enough to handle.
- Reduce oven temperature to 300°. Lightly oil 13×9″ pan and line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on both long sides. Lightly oil parchment.
- Add 1 cup oats to nut mixture in food processor and pulse until nuts are broken down to a sandy mixture and no whole oats remain. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Pulse any dried fruit larger than a raisin in food processor (no need to wipe out) until finely chopped, about the size of chocolate chips. Transfer to bowl with nut mixture. Add remaining 1 cup oats and stir to combine, breaking up any fruit that is stuck together. Add 3 Tbsp. oil and stir to coat. Add peanut butter, but don’t stir it in.
- Bring honey, salt, and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan (honey will bubble up) over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until honey is foaming vigorously and smells like caramel, about 3 minutes.
- Immediately pour honey syrup over peanut butter in reserved bowl (it will melt the peanut butter). Stir to combine, making sure to aggressively break up any clumps of nut butter.
- Stir egg white with a fork or whisk in a small bowl to liquefy. Add to oat mixture and stir until egg white is no longer visible.
- Transfer oat mixture to prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer. (Be sure to really compact the mixture into the pan—it helps to use the bottom of a heavy glass or metal measuring cup.)
- Bake granola bars until deep golden brown and no longer sticky or wet, 30-35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then lightly score into 16 long rectangles (1 cut lengthwise and 8 cuts crosswise will make bars that are about 6½x1″). Let cool completely in pan, then use parchment to hoist bars out onto a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut along marks to separate bars.
Do Ahead: Bars can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
