Chocolate Granola Bars

Today’s post is the last post for the Food Blog Awards 2015 contest, organized by VIMAGourmet magazine. In essence, it is the second challenge for the Best Design & Site Architecture category. We had to cook a recipe for IKEA (our sponsor) stores visitors. Therefore, I found myself at IKEA Kifisos store, on Saturday December 5, to cook chocolate granola bars with pistachios, cranberries and pumpkin seeds, explaining the recipe step by step.

It was a very nice experience and I really enjoyed it! And I think everybody enjoyed it a lot, judging by the interest people showed, their questions and their kind words. Those of you who couldn’t make it, you can watch the video.  🙂

These bars are full of chocolate. I use chocolate chips and very finely chopped chocolate. They can be made with chocolate chips only (240 g.). They can also be made with other nuts (chopped almonds or walnuts), or other dried fruit (raisins, blueberries, goji berries, chopped apricots). Keeping the dosages I’m giving you, you can make your own combinations.

 

 

Now let’s see the recipe:

Chocolate Granola Bars

Total time:   30 minutes

Servings:    40 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup (310 g./10.9 oz.) tahini, preferably wholegrain
• 1 1/3 cup (400 g./14 oz.) honey, or, maple syrup
• 1 1/3 cup (165 g./5.8 oz.) shelled pistachios
• 1 1/3 cup (175 g./6.2 oz.) pumpkin seeds
• 1 1/3 cup (190 g./6.7 oz.) dried cranberries
• 2 ½ cups (225 g./7.9 oz.) rolled oats
• 140 g./4.9 oz. dark chocolate chips
• 100 g./3.5 oz. dark chocolate, very finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, add honey and tahini and heat over medium-low heat, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour the warm tahini-honey mixture in the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon or your hand.
4. Preheat oven to 170^o C/340^o F.
5. Wet a piece of parchment paper with water, crinkle it to drain well and lay on a 40X32cm baking sheet (this way the paper softens and fits better in the pan). Spread the mixture into the pan and lay very well. Bake for about 20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely, and then cut them into pieces.

I hope you enjoy them!

 

If you would like to vote for me, login to your facebook account and click here. You should click the “like” button below the text. Thank you!