Trail Mix Granola Bars & Saratoga Peanut Butter Company

The first time you make granola bars at home, there's a moment where you realise you've been overpaying for a significantly inferior product for years. These Trail Mix Granola Bars are better than anything from a wrapper chewier, more flavourful, made from ingredients you can actually read, and customisable down to whatever combination of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit you prefer.

This batch was made with Saratoga Peanut Butter Company's peanut butter, which if you haven't tried it is genuinely exceptional. It's the kind of peanut butter that makes you want to find more recipes to put it in. Alongside the Peanut Butter Cookie Frozen Yogurt, these bars are one of the best uses I've found. The peanut butter works as both flavouring and binder here, giving the bars a rich, nutty backbone that holds everything together.

Getting Clean Slices

Press the mixture into the pan as firmly as possible before baking use the flat bottom of a measuring cup and really lean into it. This is the single most important step for bars that hold together cleanly. Let them cool completely in the pan before cutting at least an hour at room temperature or 30 minutes in the fridge. Cut with a sharp knife using a firm, decisive press rather than a sawing motion.

The mixture should look sticky and cohesive when you spread it if it seems dry and crumbly, add a bit more honey or jam as additional binding. If it's too sticky to press evenly, slightly dampen your hands or the measuring cup bottom.

Variations

• Swap dried cranberries for dried mango or apricot for a tropical version
• Use almond or cashew butter instead of peanut butter
• Add chia seeds or flaxseed meal for extra nutrition without changing the flavour
• Skip the chocolate chips for a lower-sugar version that still tastes great

The white chocolate peanut butter combination also makes an excellent variation of this bar if you want to explore further.

Ingredients

• canola oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp brown rice syrup (alternately, you could use the equivalent amount of honey, agave nectar, or  pure maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup natural nut butter, (I used Saratoga Peanut Butter Company Adirondack Jack), at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup puffed brown rice cereal
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened & unsulfured dried fruit, such as cherries or cranberries*
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts and/or seeds, (I used 1/4 cup chopped almonds + 1/4 cup sunflower seeds)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line an 8 x 8 inch square baking pan (or a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan for thicker bars)** with parchment paper so the sides hang over the edge of the pan. Lightly coat with canola oil cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the applesauce, liquid sweetener of your choice, nut butter, and vanilla extract; stir until the mixture is completely homogenous.

Fold in the rolled oats, puffed rice cereal, salt, cinnamon, dried fruit, and nuts and/or seeds. Spoon batter into the prepared pan, spreading into an even layer, and bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes (add about 5 additional minutes of baking time if you’re using a loaf pan).

Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove by picking up the sides of the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

*If using dried fruit that comes in larger pieces, such as cherries, I suggest roughly chopping them before adding to the batter.

**Having made two batches of these granola bars, one in an 8 x 8 inch pan and the other in a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, I can say that the bars hold together better when baked in the 8 x 8 square pan. Although I like the traditional rectangular shape of the bars from the 9 x 5 loaf pan, their thickness made them a bit more crumbly.

Estimated Nutrition Per Serving

• Calories: 320 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 45g
• Protein: 4g
• Fat: 14g
• Saturated Fat: 7g
• Cholesterol: 35mg
• Sodium: 220mg
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugars: 20g