Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups old fashion rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup of finely chopped Trader Joe’s dried mandarin oranges
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup of chopped dark chocolate
- Optional: If drizzling with more chocolate: Plus 1 cup of dark chocolate chunks or chips, plus 3 tablespoons of heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Place oats on a large baking sheet and give the pan a shake to scatter evenly
- Bake the oats for 15 minutes and stirring once half way through cooking
- The oats will be a golden color and smell toasty when finished
- While oats are getting toasty in the oven, in a small sauce pan heat the oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
- Over medium high heat bring the mixture to a simmer, make sure the brown sugar dissolves completely and remove from heat
- Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper use enough paper to cover the pan and back over the top of the bars
- Place oats in a large bowl and immediately lower the temperature to 325F throw your coconut shavings onto the baking sheet you removed the oats from and roast coconut for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown color, watching closely
- In a large bowl with toasted oats pour the contents of sauce pan all over, mixing till coated evenly
- Add your toasted coconut and chopped mandarins to the granola
- Press the granola into the pan prepared with parchment paper and press down evenly
- Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before adding your chopped dark chocolate chunks to the top of the granola, pressing the dark chocolate into the granola
- Cover the granola with parchment and place into the fridge
- Allow the bars to set at least one hour, preferably overnight
- Gently remove bars from the pan and place on a cutting board
- Cut directly in half and then into 12 even bars
- (Optional) Chocolate Drizzle:
- Warm 3 tablespoons of heavy cream in small sauce pan
- Once simmering turn off heat to lowest setting and add the dark chocolate chunks, whisking quickly
- Place chocolate into a Ziploc bag and cut a small tip of one corner (Tip: I use a tall glass and drape the opening of the zip lock over the glass to pour in sauce)
- Drizzle the bars with desired amount of chocolate
- Enjoy or store granola bars in an airtight container
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Breakfast/Snack