While traveling, I love granola bars, trail mix nuts, dry cereal and fruit for on-the-go snacks. I also try and start the day with a high fiber and protein meal, such as whole grain toast with peanut butter.
-Christie Rampone
Happy 2018 friends! While everyone is over here like “new year, new me” I had to be rolled off of Bourbon Street after spending NYE in New Orleans with my family. I ate my weight in the best creole/southern food imaginable. No lie, I ate gumbo at least 3 meals a day (including breakfast).
Now that I am sitting in the airport, waiting to catch my flight to North Carolina, I am thinking about how I am going to get myself back on track and I can’t think of a better way than my Copycat Kind Granola Bars.
I created these delicious granola bars a few weeks ago when I was traveling for work to Indianapolis. I have a bad habit of going on trips & snacking as if my life depends on it. In an effort to be a better traveler, I concocted these clean granola bars and let me just say, they are AMAZING! Every time I went to grab a bag of Cheetos, I picked up a bar instead and was able to snack in a healthier way…after my trip to New Orleans, I see a big batch of these granola bars in my future to counterbalance any bad cravings!
How to make Copycat Kind Granola Bars:
These bars were an instant hit because they require little effort to make. You toast a few oats and nuts, stir up a sauce & mix everything together then let it set in the fridge. They take a total of 20 minutes to prep for a weeks worth of healthy snacks!
To start, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. On a baking sheet, add your rolled oats (gluten free or regular) as well as chopped nuts. Heat them in the oven for 8 minutes, tossing them half way through. When finished toasting, add the oats/nuts mixture to a heat safe bowl.
While your oats/nuts mixture is toasting add honey, brown sugar, coconut oil & vanilla into a frying pan. Heat the ingredients over medium-low heat until your coconut oil is melted & your sauce begins to thicken.
When your sauce is ready, pour it over your oats/nuts and give everything a good stir.
Allow this to cool for 5 minutes before adding in your chopped cranberries and dark chocolate. (If your chocolate melts a little that is okay, it will help everything bind together).
Pour the granola mixture into a lined 9×9 dish and press the ingredients down to help it form a flat surface and stick together. Garnish with extra chocolate and nuts if you want!
Place the dish in the fridge and allow to cool for 1-2 hours.
When your granola bars have cooled and “hardened” , remove them from the dish and slice them into 8-10 bars (depending on your granola bar thickness desires).
Finally heat up your remaining dark chocolate and drizzle it overtop your granola bars. Allow the chocolate to air dry for 10 minutes, serve & enjoy!
These Copycat Kind Granola Bars are the perfect travel, after school, at work snack. They travel well and keep at room temperature for up to 1 week, it doesn’t get much better than that!
As I slowly detox from my Creole food coma, I will try to think of a few more “healthy” alternatives that may be helpful while we all attempt to get our lives on track for the new year!
ENJOY!
- 3 Cup Rolled oats, gluten free/regular
- 1/2 Cup Dark chocolate, divided
- 1/3 Cup Assorted nuts, chopped
- 1/3 Cup Honey
- 1/4 Cup Coconut oil
- 1/4 Cup Dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/4 Cup Brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tsp Vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Onto a parchment paper lined baking pan, add oats and nuts.
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Place in oven and bake for 8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
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Into a sauce pan add coconut oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Heat over medium heat and stir until everything is melted and combined.
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When oats/nuts are finished, add into a large bowl.
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Add the honey mixture on top. Combine until oats are coated. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
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Next add in 1/3 cup dark chocolate and chopped dried cherries. Mix everything to combine.
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Line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper. Scoop your granola mixture into the pan and press it down to spread evenly.
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Place granola in the fridge for 1 hour to cool/harden.
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When granola is cooled, cut granola into 10 pieces.
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Melt remaining dark chocolate and drizzle on top of your granola bars. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!
These granola bars look so easy to make and loaded with so many great flavors! love that you used coconut oil, I´m really starting to get into that oil…great recipe 🙂