C&C in the Kitchen

I came across this recipe for quinoa granola bars and knew I had to try it! I love granola and granola bars and have recently stopped buying nearly all store varieties of both due to added sugar and other preservatives. Instead I prefer to make my own!

As with nearly all recipes, I modified it into my own creation!

Quinoa Granola Bars

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cups nuts (your choice) or dried fruit (or both)
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly coat a 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment for easy removal of the bars. I suggest the latter. As a side note, I used a large glass Pyrex dish and doubled the recipe to share with my barre3 class.

In a medium skillet melt the coconut oil over medium heat and add the oats.  Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until the oats start to turn golden brown.  Transfer the oats to your mixer bowl (or a medium bowl).  Add the quinoa, flaxseed, chia seeds, cinnamon, salt, cardamom, coconut, nuts and fruit to the oats.

In a small saucepan add the honey and peanut butter and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.  Pour the syrup over the oats and use mixer to integrate or use a spatula make sure that all the ingredients are evenly coated.  Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake the bars for 20 to 25 minutes until the bars are golden brown.  Let them cool completely, slice and serve.

Here is what they look like before going into the oven.

And after baking!

You could easily exchange peanut butter for another nut butter and add ingredients such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins, cranberries or chocolate chips. These are definitely going to be a treat that I make often. They are easy and delicious!