These healthy chocolate malted granola bars are a soft and chewy power packed snack perfect for breakfast or anytime. Rolled oats, nuts and seeds mixed together to create an energy boosting bar.
Is it just me or has this whole back to school thing thrown you for a loop? Because, how did it happen so fast?!!! Does it feel like yesterday was the first of June or what? But whatever the case... be it that you're super prepared (said no one ever) or that you're scrambling for backpacks and lunch boxes to get the kiddos off to school, you need packable lunch and snack solutions. Amiright?
I'm a lover of the back to school season. Fall is my new year. It's my new beginning, which seems so odd seeing that it's actually an ending. But whatever... we're not here to judge. But I always loved the new school year, even though I was a horrendous student. My snack game was always strong though. So I'm dropping an A+ snack solution here.
These healthy chocolate malted granola bars are a serious power packed snack deal. Now I get maybe sometimes you might look at ingredients like chia seeds, malt extract, spelt flour, yada yada, and there may be an eye roll about how on trend these things may be (I'm looking at you chia seeds), but I promise these ingredients are so totally worth it.
The chia and water create an egg effect and that barley malt extract is the perfect partner for that completely indulgent, but oh so necessary, chocolate drizzle. And if for some reason you need to make these without nuts, then that's totally cool, just add some extra oats to compensate. It's no problem. They'll still turn out awesome.
These bars have that perfect soft and chewy thing going on. It's the kind of granola bar that you definitely would have had in your lunch box at some point as a kid. But, why leave amazing things like granola bars in childhood. They belong in every lunch box and every snack bag.
PS. Did I mention they go awesome with coffee.
So some substitutions:
- no nuts= add extra oats.
- Gluten free= use gluten free oats
- If you don't have barley malt extract= skip it
- Forgot cocoa nibs= use chocolate chips... but they'll have a higher calorie count
- No spelt flour= use regular... but again, not quite as healthy
- No chocolate for drizzle= what the heck is wrong here???? It's okay. Skip it. Everyone will still love you.
Healthy Chocolate Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 60 ml ¼ cup water
- 125 ml ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon barley malt extract
- 135 g 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 140 g 1 cup chopped cashews
- 70 g ½ cup spelt flour
- 60 g ¾ cup toasted desiccated coconut
- 90 g ½ cup coco nibs
- 10 dried pitted dates finely chopped
- 50 g 6 squares dark chocolate.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160c/ 350f and line a 9x9 inch square baking tin with greaseproof or baking parchment.
- In a large bowl place the chia seeds and water and set aside for 10 minutes to make the chia egg.
- Add the maple syrup, barley, oats, cashews, dates, flour, coconut and coco nibs and mix well.
- Press the mixture firmly into the prepared baking tin.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Set aside to cool in the tin completely.
- Using a serrated knife cut into 12 bars.
- Melt chocolate in a bowl in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the granola bars. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set the chocolate.
- Makes 12 bars.
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