Hands up who used to eat muesli bars (or granola bars ,for our American friends) as a healthy snack as a kid?
You too?
Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, but most muesli bars are actually not all that healthy. I know – a packaged convenience food that claims to be a healthy lunch box option for children is actually not that good for you? Who would have thought!? Sarcasm aside though, if you look at the ingredients of my childhood favorite Choc Chip variety (yes I know, that should have been a dead giveaway there!) there are a staggering 24 ingredients! There are four different types of sugar, and the bars themselves are composed of 20% sugar! I realise that these were the chocoalte variety, but if you look at the apricot kind – my second favorite – the sugar content jumps up to 22%.
But of course, muesli bars don’t need to be unhealthy and in fact, if you make them yourself they can actually be not only healthy but also much tastier. The trick is to sweeten them with dried fruit turned into a paste. I have been trying this out quite a bit lately and it’s yet to fail, and with out any doubt this here is my favorite flavour combination.
But first, lets discuss the fruit paste. You basically want it to be roughly 4 parts dried fruit, 2 parts water, 2 parts nut butter and one part honey. If you’re trying to cut back on sugar, you could easily cut out the honey, but if you’re making them for children or anyone with a sweet tooth, then I’d keep the honey. There’s only two tablespoons in the whole recipe, so it’s not a huge amount of added chocolate by any means. You could use any nut butter and fruit combination, but this one takes the cake (or the slice?) for me at the moment.
To finish, I’ve drizzled dark chocolate over the top, because it looks pretty and because, well – chocolate! But of course, if you’re a crazy kind of person whose just not that into chocolate, continue with your outlandish ways and leave it out (or off) but do it at your own risk! The bars will still be good, but just not quite as good. You have been warned…
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ⅔ cup chopped nuts and/or seeds
- ⅔ cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup cacao nibs
- 8 dried pear halves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup water
- 3 Tbsp almond butter
- 2 Tbsp raw honey, optional
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 40g 80% dark chocolate
- Preheat oven to 175 C || 350 F
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, add the pear and water and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer a few minutes and then use a fork to mash the pears into a paste. Add the honey if using, nut butter and salt and mash until all ingredients are combined and have formed a paste.
- Add the fruit paste to the dry ingredients and mix through until well combined.
- Pour into a lined and greased baking tray and push down with a spoon.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes until the edges have started to brown and the centre is firm. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until cooled completely.
- To melt the chocolate, break into smaller pieces and add to a small saucepan over very low heat. Stir continuously until the chocolate starts to melt - be careful not to burn.
- Once melted, use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the muesli bar slice. Cut into smaller squares or bars, and store in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to a week.
Ooh I like your fruit paste formula. I bet it helps keep the bars from being dry too. Dried pears are one of my favorites, even though they’re terribly expensive here! (What about there?) And I love the dried pear and almond butter combo. We’re leaving on holiday this weekend, and if I didn’t already have some energy balls and granola slated to make and take with I would make these! Can only do so much before leaving….next time. :)
The fruit paste definitely helps to keep the bars moist and chewy too, which is an added bonus! Dried pears are expensive here too, but not as bad as some other dried fruits such as mango which is insane! I think I paid around $4 for the pears in this recipe, but it made enough bars to last us a whole week, with a few given away too so I think in the grand scheme it wasn’t too bad.
Hope you enjoyed your holiday Katie!
I’ve never made muesli bars before but after seeing this recipe think its something I have to try. These look amazing.. and the combination of chocolate and pear is divine. Pinned!
I think you would like them Thalia – they are a good combination of healthy + sweet, so a great snack if you’re after something on the sweet side but not as indulgent as a cake or cookie. The pear and chocolate really make these ones too I think, they work perfectly together :)
I love how natural these muesli bars are. I totally agree with you on the prepacked cereal bars – they’re full of way too much sugar and unnecessary ingredients. Much better to make your own! :)
Definitely better to make your own :) Thanks Sarah x
Dearna, you’ve outshine yourself with these pictures. Wow! So gorgeous!!
I didn’t know muesli bars were that unhealthy. Lucky I’ve never been a big fan of the store-bought ones – phew! These look great though! So yummy :)
Thank you so much Josefine! Yes, the muesli bars here at least are loaded with sugar and all other kinds of processed ingredients. Homemade is definitely the way to go! x
and double chocolate bars are fvt ones. I always get tons of compliments when I make them :)