I have a love and hate relationship with granola bars, as I think many of us do. They are a great portable and convenient snack, while their continually increasing cost, fast consumption (I mean, didn’t I just buy these?), and uncontrollable ingredients are a constant battle.
I finally hit my breaking point when, yet again, I got a smear of chocolate down my shirt as I was eating a premium granola bar. “The chocolate melts too fast,” I mumbled as I tried getting the stain out of my shirt. My answer to this dilemma? A 17-minute start-to-finish granola bar recipe that I can make at home at a competitive price, with premium ingredients, and that does not fall apart in my lap or stain my shirt. I have come to terms that the fast consumption problem is unavoidable if I want the bars to be crave-worthy. It’s a compromise I’m willing to make, and I hope you are too.
The trick to getting these bars to stick and stay together is warming the peanut butter and honey in a skillet before combining them with the dry ingredients. The addition of shredded coconut and toasted almonds complement the cinnamon, coffee, and peanut butter flavors, making these perfectly balanced granola bars, both for nutrition and taste.
POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THIS COFFEE AND CINNAMON GRANOLA BAR RECIPE
OATS. Feel free to substitute pulsed oats for quick-cooking oats.
SLIVERED ALMONDS. Chopped almonds also work. If you use this substitution, I recommend measuring by weight instead of volume to ensure you have the right amount.
COFFEE. Don’t like coffee? Feeding kids? Simply skip the ground coffee and amp up the amount of cinnamon if desired.
COCONUT. Chocolate chips are an excellent substitution for coconut. Make sure to measure by weight instead of volume if using this substitution.
MORE RECIPES WITH OATS
- Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Jammy Fruit Crumble Bars with Whole Wheat Flour
- Humble Buttermilk Scones
No-Bake Coffee and Cinnamon Granola Bar Recipe
This No-Bake Coffee and Cinnamon Granola Bar Recipe is full of toasted almonds, shredded coconut, oats, peanut butter, and honey. Fast and easy; make your healthy and convenient snack right at home!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: No-bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (163g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (98g) slivered almonds
- 1 cup (240g) old-fashioned, creamy natural peanut butter*
- 1/2 cup (170g) honey*
- 1/3 cup (27g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coffee, freshly ground preferred
Instructions
- Line an 8-by-8 inch square pan with a sheet of parchment paper, extending up to two sides, forming a “sling” for your bars. The parchment paper makes it easy for you to remove the bars and slice them later.
- Place the old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor, and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped, about 30 seconds. Leave the pulsed oats in the food processor bowl until step 5.
- Heat a 10- 12-inch skillet over medium heat and toast the almonds, occasionally stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Remove the almonds to a large bowl and let cool.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the honey and peanut butter to the skillet and stir until warm and combined, about 3 minutes.
- Add the pulsed oats, coconut, cinnamon, and ground coffee to the cooled almonds and stir to combine. Pour the honey and peanut butter mixture onto the dry ingredients. Using a large spoon or spatula, mix the ingredients until evenly combined and no dry ingredients remain, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared square pan. Using your hands or a spatula, distribute the mixture in the pan as evenly as possible. Using a piece of parchment paper to protect your hand, press the ingredients, tightly and firmly, into the pan. Remember the corners! A glass or measuring cup covered in parchment paper also works in place of using your hand.
- Cover the pan with parchment paper or foil and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. To speed up this process, place the pan in the freezer instead of the refrigerator. Once cool, use the parchment “sling” to lift bars from the pan and transfer them to the cutting board. Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut the bars into 16 2×2″ squares (or your desired size).
Notes
Special thanks to Loma Inamdar from Boston Brew Company for leading the way in this coffee + cinnamon combination.
PEANUT BUTTER. Make sure your peanut butter is well-mixed before using. For best results, use a brand of peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt. Some natural brands add palm oil, which makes the peanut butter too thick for these bars. If your peanut butter doesn’t contain salt, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the large bowl in step 5.
HONEY. Eating local honey decreases allergies this time of year, and heating the honey may reduce some of its health benefits. But wait! You can gently heat the honey up to 95°F (35°C) and still take advantage of all of those allergy-relieving benefits. If this is important to you, be conscious of how hot the skillet is when you add the peanut butter and honey and gently warm the mixture.
STORAGE. Bars will keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator. You can also store these bars in the freezer in an airtight container, plastic freezer bag, or individually wrapped. Let the bars defrost at room temperature before eating, about 30 minutes.
DOUBLING IT? Follow the instructions as written, and use a 9×13″ baking pan. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 204 calories
- Sugar: 10.1g
- Sodium: 63mg
- Fat: 12.4g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8g
- Carbohydrates: 18.9g
- Fiber: 2.7g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: simple granola bar recipe, no-bake granola bar recipe, healthy granola bars
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