Chewy Blueberry Almond Granola Bars
I love road trips. With a good audio book, a gracious and spirited driver, and a bagful of yummy snacks, I’ll go just about anywhere. In the car and in life, the journey can be as exciting as the destination. Last weekend my husband Greg and I packed the car with our hiking gear, Scrabble, and other essentials like good wine and bourbon, and headed to Westby, Wisconsin—a five-hour drive from our home in Chicago. (It takes six hours if your gracious driver agrees to visit your favorite cheese makers along the way.) Sure, Westby is a far cry from the Spring break hot spots prominently featured on the Facebook pages of my cruel friends, but it’s a great place to reconnect with nature and escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Besides, you won’t get to hear two barred owls call and answer from the deck of a Carnival Cruise ship.
Since man cannot live by cheese alone (Believe me, I’ve tried.), I packed our feed bag with Greg’s favorite rosemary almonds, some clementines and sliced carrots, and my new favorite granola bars. These tasty bars came together in under fifteen minutes. They’re chewy, but not easily squashed if your gracious driver drops his full water bottle on one. Safe travels and happy noshing!
Chewy Blueberry Almond Granola Bars
Makes 18 bars.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened puffed cereal (wheat or kamut)
1/2 cup finely ground almonds (or almond meal)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds (or flax seed meal)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 T melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
3/4 cup dried blueberries (Cherries are nice too.)
Preparation
- Line a 9×9″ square cake pan with aluminum foil. Lightly coat it with vegetable oil or cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, puffed cereal, ground almonds and flax seeds, and coconut.
- Combine honey, brown sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan over low-moderate heat. Remove from heat when the butter and sugar have melted into the honey. Stir in salt and cardamom, if using.
- Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until dry ingredients are evenly coated. Stir in dried fruit.
- Using a lightly oiled large spatula or your hands, evenly compress the mixture in the prepared pan.
- Once the pan has cooled completely, lift the slab from the pan. Use a large chef’s knife to cut the slab into a 6×3 grid. Individually wrap the bars in waxed paper. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Nutrition summary: calories: 189, fat: 6.7g, fiber: 3.4g, protein: 3.3g
Bob Vivant 
I am adding this to my list of must make recipes. Is it possible these really take 15 minutes? Seems like a perfect project to incorporate the kids.
These look eewy chewy good…yum!
These are delicious – not dry like the ones you get at the store. And they really fill you up.
Couldn’t imagine a better way to start the day, these would be a great on the go breakfast…. Yum!
Thanks Poppy! My husband agrees.
I’ll bet! I think my man will be satisfied only if there’s chocolate somewhere involved!
I made these and the recipe is a good base to start with. I did find them way to sweet though, even when cutting the sugar/honey down to about 2/3 a cup (I used honey, agave nectar, and raw sugar). I will try adding sunflower oil for moisture and lowering the sugars to 1/3-1/2 cup and adding more coconut because I really like how the flavor adds to it.
Thanks for sharing!
Ok after they cooled and hardened I realized the sweetness is just right at 2/3-3/4 cup for the sweeteners. It takes a bit for the liquid to soak. Very good recipe. Yummy bars!
cocoongraphicdesign, thank you for your note and especially the follow up. I’m happy the bars turned out for you. Funny enough I wrestled with the sweetness of these too before arriving at the recipe you found here.
I’m not a coconut fan, but I would love to make these. What can I substitute for the coconut?
Exactly what I am looking for. Thank you.
Looked all over for a no bake bar with no nut or seed butter. Thank you!! They turned out great. I coated the bottom with melted yoghurt chips.