Summary
Cooking: 10 minutes
Chilling: 2 hours
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Makes: 10 small squares
How do you make homemade granola bars?
There are different methods to making granola bars. Some require baking the whole mixture. Others involve simply mixing the ingredients and leaving them to set in the fridge.
These apricot granola bars are a mix of the too and also pretty easy to make.
Toast the nuts and oats in the oven until golden. Then mix with the other ingredients and let it set in the fridge. Simple, soft and chewy granola bars, ready in a flash.
Ingredients
- ½ cup of dried apricots (90 grams)
- 200 mls boiling water (for soaking)
- 2 cups of rolled oats
- ½ cup of halved macadamia nuts (70 grams)*
- ⅓ cup of honey (80 mls)
- ¼ cup of unsalted butter (55 grams)
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- ¼ cup of dessicated coconut (20 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (remove if using salted butter)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips (45 grams)
*In place of macadamia nuts you can also use cashew nuts, almonds or your favourite nuts or seeds. Sunflower seeds can work well as a nut alternative if you are concerned about nut allergies.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180° C (350°F) fan setting.
- Place the whole dried apricots in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 5-10 minutes and then drain and set aside.
- In the meantime place the oats and macadamia nuts in a food processor and give them a few pulses to break them apart.
- Spread the mixture out onto a large baking tray or oven dish. Cook in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden and lightly toasted.
- Return to the softened apricots and place them in a small food processor together with your honey. Blend well until smooth and caramel-like.
- Empty the apricot and honey mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, coconut, salt and cinnamon. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the golden oats and nuts from the oven. Stir everything well for a few minutes until there are no more dry oats remaining.
- Finally add in the mini chocolate chips. If the mixture is warm you may need to let it cool to room temperature before adding in the chocolate chips as otherwise they will melt.
- Line an 8 inch oven dish with parchment paper. You can overlap two lengths of parchment paper one going longways and the other sideways across each other.
- Transfer your mixture to the lined dish. Use a spoon to level it out and then use something hard to press down on it. This will pack it down nice and firmly. It could be an object like the base of a coffee cup covered in parchment paper.
- Cover your dish and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
- When it’s set, take a sharp cutting knife and slice it into bars or squares. For instant snacks, you can wrap individual bars with parchment paper and keep them in the fridge or freezer. That way they’re ready to go when you need them.
Feel good apricot granola bars – our step by step guide:
Soak the apricots
Preheat an oven to 180° C (350°F) fan setting.
Start by taking your whole dried apricots and covering them in boiling water.
Leave them to soak for 5 or 10 minutes. This will soften them.
Blitz the oats and macadamia nuts
Place the oats and macadamia nuts in a blender and give them a buzz to break them apart.
They should be chopped into rough pieces.
Then spread them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Cook for 10 minutes in your oven until golden and slightly crispy.
Make your sticky apricot caramel
Return to your apricots and drain them from the water.
Place them in a small blender with your honey.
Blend together for a few minutes until you get a smooth caramel-like liquid. Then spoon it into a large mixing bowl.
Mix with the other ingredients
Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, coconut, salt and ground cinnamon to the bowl.
Stir it all together well.
Add in the oats, nuts and chocolate chips
Add in the golden oats and nuts that you toasted earlier.
Stir everything well for a minute or two. You don’t want to see any dried oats remaining.
Finally add in your mini chocolate chips. You want your mixture to be completely cool or at least at room temperature before you do. Otherwise the chocolate chips will melt.
Leave to set
Take an 8 inch oven dish and line it with parchment paper.
Pour your granola bar mixture into the lined dish. Flatten it out with a spoon.
Take something flat and heavy and press down on the mixture to compact it. This could be a glass water bottle covered in greaseproof paper.
When it’s all level and compacted, cover it up and place it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Cut up your granola bars
When it’s set and firm you can cut up your granola tray into squares or bars.
Use a sharp cutting knife to make clean shapes. If you want to store some bars for later, then wrap each one up individually with parchment paper or cling film. Pop them in the freezer for a last minute homemade snack.
Enjoy these chewy apricot granola bars for breakfast, dessert or after school snacks
Feel good apricot granola bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried apricots (90 grams)
- 200 mls boiling water (for soaking)
- 2 cups rolled oats gluten free
- ½ cup macadamia nuts halved
- ⅓ cup honey (80 mls)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (55 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup dessicated coconut (20 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (remove if using salted butter)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips (45 grams)
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 180° C (350°F) fan setting.
-
Place the whole dried apricots in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 5-10 minutes and then drain and set aside.
-
In the meantime place the oats and macadamia nuts in a food processor and give them a few pulses to break them apart.
-
Spread the mixture out onto a large baking tray or oven dish. Cook in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden and lightly toasted.
-
Return to the softened apricots and place them in a small food processor together with your honey. Blend well until smooth and caramel-like.
-
Empty the apricot and honey mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, coconut, salt and cinnamon. Mix until well combined.
-
Add in the golden oats and nuts from the oven. Stir everything well for a few minutes until there are no more dry oats remaining.
-
Finally add in the mini chocolate chips. If the mixture is warm you may need to let it cool to room temperature before adding in the chocolate chips as otherwise they will melt.
-
Line an 8 inch oven dish with parchment paper. You can overlap two lengths of parchment paper one going longways and the other sideways across each other.
-
Transfer your mixture to the lined dish. Use a spoon to level it out and then use something hard to press down on it. This will pack it down nice and firmly. It could be an object like the base of a coffee cup covered in parchment paper.
-
Cover your dish and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
-
When it’s set, take a sharp cutting knife and slice it into bars or squares. For instant snacks, you can wrap individual bars with parchment paper and keep them in the fridge or freezer. That way they’re ready to go when you need them.
