Do we have any chocolate fans in the house? Anyone besides me? 🙂 If you are also a fan, you are going to love these no-bake chocolate granola bars, which actually have an interesting story to them.
So in addition to running this blog, I also work with Lisa Leake of 100daysofrealfood.com. She’s working on her 3rd cookbook (yay!) and asked if I’d like to contribute a recipe. Um, hello?! Of course I did! I got straight to work on it and knew the requirements: it needed to cost $15 or under. I also know some of the “rules” that she abides to (no refined flours, sugars, etc.) Buuuuut we didn’t talk sugar specifically. I posted an Instagram story showing two different versions of these bars and later got a text from her. It went kinda like this:
Me: WE HAVE A WINNER! Check out my Instagram story for a pic.
Lisa: It looks great! Is there any sugar?
Me: No sugar, but I did use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
Lisa: Well, that means there is sugar – they just added it for you lol
Me: (silence)
Lisa: I hope that you can use it on your blog because they looked really good!
While she occasionally includes recipes on her blog that include sugar, it’s a no-go for the book. Sooooo … the bad news is that this recipe that I was SO excited about will not be in her upcoming cookbook. But the GOOD news is that I can share it with you now! I just know you are going to <3 this recipe because not only are they as delicious as they look, but they are SO.FREAKING.EASY. Like my 11- or 13-year-old can make these themselves.
I honestly didn’t know if I should call these a dessert because they really are more like a granola bar (with chocolate as a bonus). My kids even said the same thing without me first sharing my thoughts. So lets do this – we won’t call it a dessert, we’ll call it a granola bar. That way it won’t *count*:).
About the no-bake chocolate granola bars:
- You can make these without the use of your oven. Yep, as long as you have a microwave, you’re in good shape.
- I use Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels. They are free of the common allergens and contain just 2 ingredients: unsweetened chocolate and cane sugar.
- To make these allergy-friendly, I used Sunbutter, but you can certainly try your favorite peanut (or other) nut butter)
- PLEASE let these sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to harden before attempting to cut. Trust me – I know it’s tempting!
Deliciously tasty chocolate granola bars that include oats, nut butter, and of course - chocolate!
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sunbutter
- 1/3 cup + 2 TBSP maple syrup
- 3 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup sunbutter
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Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with wax paper.
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In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, heat butter to melt (approx. 30 seconds). Stir in the 1/4 cup sunbutter and heat for another 20-30 seconds. Add maple syrup and mix in oats. Take 2/3 of this "granola" mixture and press down onto the wax paper in the baking pan.
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In another medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and the 1/2 cup sunbutter for 60 seconds, stopping to stir at 30 seconds. Pour most of the chocolate mixture on top of the granola, reserving a few spoonfuls for drizzling on top.
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Sprinkle remaining granola on top of the chocolate, gently pressing down to ensure that it sticks. Drizzle remaining chocolate on top and place pan in the refrigerator for 2 hours before cutting.
Let me warn you that these are dangerously delicious. But you will love them! Enjoy!
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I made this today – unfortunately my oatmeal layer did not want to stay together. I used peanut butter in place of sun butter. I wanted to like this – it does taste good – but it all comes apart 🙁
Hmmm – did you make sure to let them cool in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before cutting? They will definitely fall apart if they are not completely cooled. Hopefully this suggestion helps!