Crunchy muesli bars (granola bars)

This can be a recipe for crunchy muesli bars that keep crunchy for over 3 weeks! I munch on these as a sweet-treat repair, but they’re wholesome sufficient for breakfast as a result of they’re sugar-free. Endlessly customisable! After chewy no-bake muesli bars? Right here they’re!

In pursuit of crunchy muesli bars

Chewy muesli bars are really easy to make. They don’t even must be baked!

Crunchy muesli bars, nonetheless, had been irritatingly tough to crack. At the least, with out utilizing sugar. Wildly standard crunchy muesli bars from my college playground days (mysteriously tough to seek out nowadays – if in any respect?) had a daunting quantity of sugar in them for one thing marketed as “wholesome”.

Whereas I’m not one to shrink back from sugar in my baking, I simply all the time really feel that some issues ought to be a little bit extra healthful. Muesli bars being one such factor!

Cracking the crunchy muesli bar code

Lengthy and the wanting it – when you bake a primary muesli bar recipe, it is going to come out crunchy however doesn’t keep that manner for very lengthy. Typically a number of hours, or the day at finest. The subsequent day they’re chewy/sticky/sweaty.

For stay-crunchy muesli bars, I discovered I needed to do a double-bake scenario:

• toast the oats and nuts

• combine with glue (peanut butter and honey)

• press in pan, chill to agency

• minimize, then bake.

A lot of iterations of the above had been tried in pursuit of this last recipe! I hope you like and munch on these crunchy muesli bars for a few years to come back. 🙂

Elements in crunchy muesli bars

Wonderful recipe to cater to nut allergic reactions! Simply use 2 3/4 cups of “something you need” although I’d use at the very least 3/4 cup of oats (my recipe makes use of 1 1/2 cups) for muesli-bar density. Any much less and you’ll begin shifting into nut-bar territory (chunkier) and the glue (peanut butter + honey) could also be inadequate to carry the bar collectively.

Categorical cross: Simply use 2 3/4 cups of your favorite muesli combine!

• Pure peanut butter – This recipe requires pure peanut butter which is simply pure peanuts with out sugar and salt added. It’s runnier than industrial peanut butter unfold (Bega/Kraft, Skippy, Jif) so it’s simpler to combine by way of. I concern when you do this with industrial peanut butter unfold, you may be cursing me with a thick doughy combination! (Additionally, pure peanut butter is more healthy – no palm oil, no sugar and many others).

• Honey – The sweetener for the glue and in addition what makes the muesli bar crunchy as soon as baked. Maple syrup additionally works however they don’t seem to be fairly as crunchy and doesn’t maintain collectively fairly as properly. However a superb various.

• Rolled oats – Simply plain rolled oats, like we use for recipes like oatmeal cookies and Anzac biscuits. Not fast oats, not a ready-made porridge combine, not metal minimize oats.

• Almonds – I like chunky bits of almonds in my muesli bars. It’s finest to provide them a tough chop else you find yourself with large items of almonds all through which may make it tougher to get clear cuts.

• Pepitas – These all the time make an look in my muesli bars for a pleasant splash of inexperienced color.

• Sultanas – My nostalgic dried fruit of selection, although you’ll be able to completely substitute with something you need.

• Cinnamon – For flavour. Pumpkin spice combine can also be pretty, as is a dab of vanilla extract (combine into the glue). Different spices I wish to dabble with embody: all spice, blended spice and ginger.

• Salt – Don’t skip this! Only a contact makes a distinction. It doesn’t make it salty.

• Mini chocolate chips (non-compulsory) – The choc chips in retailer purchased choc chip muesli bars are mini ones that are smaller than common choc chips utilized in cookies. Mini ones are about 5mm / 0.2″ vast. I discovered them at my native Scoop Wholefoods (a type of locations the place you assist your self and pay by weight) however since deciding to publish this recipe, they’ve grow to be unusually onerous to seek out! So don’t fret when you can’t discover them, simply use common ones.

  Different – Chocolate drizzle throughout the highest. Do that after baking! I simply pop a small handful of chocolate chips or chocolate melts in a small ziplock bag. Microwave till melted, snip the nook off then drizzle throughout the muesli bars.

Learn how to make crunchy muesli bars

The order of the steps matter for long-lasting crunchiness!!! And slicing the muesli bars earlier than baking to lock in crunchiness is vital. 🙂

1. Toast the oats and nuts within the oven for simply 10 minutes. Drying out the oats a bit is a crunchiness insurance coverage step, and toasting the nuts brings out the flavour.

2. Muesli glue – Heat the peanut butter and honey within the microwave (simply 30 seconds) then give it a very good combine to mix. The combination is thinner when it’s heat which makes it simpler to combine by way of.

3. Combine – Put the nice and cozy oats/nuts right into a heatproof bowl and add every part else: dried fruit, cinnamon powder and salt. Pour over the nice and cozy glue then combine till completely mixed. It would seem to be there’s not sufficient glue, however there’s! Persist, use a slicing movement if wanted. If it will get too onerous to combine, microwave the bowl for 20 seconds which can loosen the combination up and make it simpler to combine.

4. Press – Put a sheet of paper over a 20 cm / 8″ sq. pan (no must grease and create extra washing up for your self). Then press the combination evenly into the pan. Fingers is best, I discover.

Optionally available choc chips

5. Cool then press – If you’re topping your muesli bars with choc chips, let the combination cool a bit first else the choc chips will soften! Then sprinkle throughout the floor and press in by protecting with one other sheet of paper (to forestall melting on contact together with your fingers).

6. Choc chips – publish press!

7. Fridge – Put the pan within the fridge for 1 hour or till it’s agency sufficient to raise the entire slab out with out it sagging. At this stage, these are chewy muesli bars so you’ll be able to eat them as is. However if you’re in pursuit of crunchy, plough on!

8. Minimize into 10 bars.

9. Bake for 25 minutes in a average oven (160°C/325°F (140°C fan-forced) till they’re fairly golden. You must be courageous right here as a result of pale = not as crunchy as they may very well be, however burnt = bitter! Examine at 22 minutes to be cautious.

10. Cool for crunch! It is possible for you to to really feel that the muesli bars are crunchy however touching them. However don’t attempt to transfer or decide them up till they’re absolutely cool so they may set and harden.

Storing crunchy muesli bars

As soon as absolutely cool, retailer them in an hermetic container to protect crunch. In “regular” climate, they may keep crunchy for as much as 5 days simply protecting them within the pantry. This additionally means you’ll be able to pop them in a lunchbox they usually’ll keep crunchy!

However to extend the crunchy-life of those muesli bars and most particularly in sizzling, humid climate (ie Sydney proper now!), retailer the muesli bars within the fridge. This retains them crunchy for properly over a fortnight. I’m as much as three weeks and they’re nonetheless nice!

And really, in heat climate, munching on cool muesli bars straight out of the fridge is definitely very interesting.

Hope you get pleasure from! – Nagi x

Watch tips on how to make it

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Crunchy muesli bars (granola bars)

Writer: Nagi

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner: 35 minutes minutes

Fridge & cooling: 2 hours hrs

Breakfast, Snack

Australian, Western

Servings10 bars

Faucet or hover to scale

Recipe video above. Lastly cracked tips on how to make chewy muesli bars into CRUNCHY bars with out resorting to sugar like industrial muesli manufacturers do! Trick is to toast the oats within the oven first, set it within the fridge with the «glue» (honey + peanut butter), minimize, then bake till crunchy. Stays crunchy for weeks! (Different recipes I attempted by no means stayed crunchy)PS Although they’re sugar free, I munch on these after I want a sweet-treat repair, but they’re wholesome sufficient for breakfast.

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan-forced). Place a sheet of baking paper over a 20 cm / 8″ sq. tin with overhang so it is simple to raise out later (no greasing wanted).

• Toast: Unfold the oats, chopped almonds and pepitas on a tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Tip right into a heatproof bowl. (Observe 5) Add the sultanas, cinnamon and salt.

• Muesli combination: Microwave the honey and peanut butter in a heatproof jug for 30 seconds on excessive. Combine to mix. (Observe 6) Pour over the oat combination and blend by way of. It would seem to be it will not combine in, however persist, it is going to! Use a slicing movement if wanted. Final resort – Observe 7

• Press: Tip the muesli combination into the pan then press firmly into the pan. As soon as cooled, scatter the choc chips throughout floor. Cowl with a sheet of paper then press down firmly together with your fingers to press in.

• Refrigerate for 1 hour or till agency sufficient to raise out with out bending.

• Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan-forced).

• Minimize: Use the paper overhang to raise the muesli slab onto a slicing board. Minimize in half, then every into 5 (10 bars). Switch onto a tray utilizing the paper, then area the muesli bars out.

• Bake for 25 minutes or till fairly golden on the floor and golden brown on the sides however not burnt.

• Cool & crunchy: Take away from the oven and funky o the tray – it is going to grow to be crunchy! Retailer in an hermetic container as soon as cooled, within the fridge if it’s heat the place you’re. It should nonetheless be crunchy 3 weeks later!

Recipe Notes:

1. Honey – Maple syrup could be substituted but it surely doesn’t have fairly the identical glueing energy as honey. However it is going to nonetheless work, the muesli bars simply crumble a little bit extra simply if you chunk into them.
2. Peanut butter – Pure, pure peanut butter that’s 100% peanuts with no sugar, salt and many others added is finest right here, for flavour and thickness (industrial unfold is way thicker so it’s more durable to combine by way of).
3. Stuff – You may mainly use 2 3/4 cups of any “stuff” you need (I’ve made this utilizing only a finances muesli combine) although you want at the very least 3/4 cup oats for the combination to have the appropriate density to connect collectively. I just like the ratio I’ve listed above – ample dried fruit for pure sweetness, correct quantity of nuts for crunch!
4. Choc chips utilized in industrial muesli bars are smaller than the baking chips used for chocolate chip cookies. I discovered them at Scoop Wholefoods (these locations the place you assist your self and pay by weight). Else, simply use common choc chips OR drizzle the muesli bars with melted chocolate (like retailer purchased ones).
5. Use a heatproof bowl for mixing in case you could rewarm the combination to loosen it up.
6. Heating makes it thinner so simpler to combine by way of.
7. Final resort – microwave for 20 seconds to loosen the combination up.If the combination will get too thick to combine the “glue” by way of evenly, microwave for 20 seconds to loosen the combination up then combine once more.

Key phrases: crunchy granola bars, crunchy muesli bars, muesli bars

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