Love Crunch Granola Bars
Love Crunch makes a delicious wholegrain base for a granola bar. Unlike storebought bars, these are more crisp than chewy—a little like Italian biscotti. They are elegant enough to serve company!
You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make these bars at home. For a fun and fruity variation, substitute dried blueberries for the almonds.
Makes 15 bars
At Nature’s Path we recommend you use organic ingredients whenever possible.
This recipe was created especially for Nature’s Path® by Lorna Sass, the award-winning cookbook author of Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way and Whole Grains for Busy People.
Ingredients:
- Butter for greasing pan
- One bag (11.5 oz) Nature’s Path Love Crunch - Dark Chocolate & Red Berries
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. ground allspice or nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, sliced into chunks, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup liquid (pourable) honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted, non-hydrogenated almond or peanut butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
- Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350F. Lightly butter bottom and sides of a rectangular baking pan about 7” x 11”.
- Place Love Crunch in bowl of food processor and pulse five times. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir in almonds, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
- In bowl of processor, blend butter, honey, almond butter, and vanilla until smooth.
- Stir butter mixture into dry ingredients until all flour is absorbed in mass.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to press firmly into an even layer.
- Bake for 9 minutes. Reverse pan back to front. Continue baking until top is lightly browned around edges, 9 to 11 minutes more. (When done, bars will still feel slightly soft to the touch; they will firm as they cool.)
- Remove pan from oven and set on a rack to cool. After 10 minutes, use a serrated knife to cut into bars about 4” long by 1 1/2” wide.
- When completely cool, run a knife along the pan edges and carefully lift up and separate the bars. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.
