Honey Nut Trail Mix Bars
I often times like to think back to my early days of making food and ask myself what did I find interesting back then? Which recipes were the first recipes that felt like triumphs? I remember in middle school discovering if I warmed peanut butter and honey in a pot on the stove (there might have been some butter in there too) and mixed in some oats I could create the most delicious granola bars. This was a big moment for me, to realize I could make something just as good, if not better, then the packaged foods I loved very much.
The blessing of making your own food is not only knowing the ingredients that went into it, but the empowerment you can feel from creating something really special. I know you may be thinking, why are granola bars so special? On their own they aren’t too much, but in the context of how important they were to me back then, very.
To connect this old, beloved granola bar to my current self I had to add in a few things. I developed a deep love for trail mix later in life and knew it would pair perfectly with the honey-peanut flavors in these bars. It did! There is so much crunch and texture in each square—and a little chocolate never made anything worse, that is for sure.
Please see the notes below for questions regarding substitutions for peanut butter or honey. My stickler self wants to ensure you make this version, it is the best! But I know that allergies and personal choice hold validity here too. I just hope you make and enjoy these wonderful bars. They are perfectly filling, sweet, and nutty.
x Jessie
HONEY NUT TRAIL MIX BARS
Makes 12 bars.
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raw walnut halves
1/3 cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds
1/3 cup raw, hulled pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raisins
few good pinches of sea salt
1 bar of dark chocolate I used puffed quinoa
1 1/4 cups creamy, runny peanut butter (see note)
1/2 cup sustainably harvested, runny honey (see note)
Begin by chopping the bar of dark chocolate and placing it in a small bowl in the freezer to chill.
Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Chop the walnut halves into small bits and combine with the oats, seeds, raisins, and sea salt.
In a small pot on the stove combine the peanut butter and honey and warm over medium/low heat, stirring often with a spatula, until hot (about 5 minutes).
Pour the honey and peanut butter mixture over the bowl of dry ingredients and begin to stir with a spatula or large spoon. Switch over to using your hands and massage the dry ingredients into the wet. The mixture will not seem sticky, it will seem a bit dry, but just take the time to work it into every oat and seed.
Add the chopped chocolate from the freezer and fold in gently.
Press the mixture into the lined 8x8 pan, really taking a few minutes to use your body weight to compact it as much as possible. This is the bit that if you do well the bars will slice nicely, but if not pressed enough they will crumble. Really lean into it!
Place the pan in the fridge to cool for an hour or two before slicing with a large, sharp knife. There might be a little crumble but the bars should otherwise hold together well if compacted properly!
Store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within two to three weeks.
Notes
* This version above is the one I favored, however, Scott seemed to enjoy a previous version where the peanut butter was decreased to 1 cup and the honey increased to 2/3 cup, for a slightly sweeter, stickier bar. Feel free to try this too if you have a bigger sweet tooth!
* Make sure to measure properly, under measuring the wet ingredients or over measuring the dry ingredients can create too dry of bars.
* For peanut butter substitutions, creamy, runny almond butter or sunflower seed butter could work too.
* For honey substitutions, I would recommend trying to find a vegan honey made from plants to best simulate the flavor and texture of these bars. Maple syrup can be used in a pinch, but they will turn out with a very different texture and flavor. I don’t recommend brown rice syrup.