Milk Chocolate Dipped Zucchini Granola Bars.
And these bars couldn't be a better representation of summer. I mean, I did stuff them with plenty of garden fresh zucchini.
Servings: 10 Bars
Calories: 417kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups freshly grated zucchini *squeeze out excess water 1 med or 2 sm
- 3 cups old fashioned oats use gluten free if needed
- 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil melted
- 1 cup brown rice krispies
- 1 cup whole grain Cheerio's use more brown rice krispies for gluten free
- 1/2 cup almonds roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds flax meal
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter or almond any nut/seed butter works too
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup for a vegan version
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces semi-sweet milk or dark chocolate (for vegan version use dark chocolate, melted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish or half sheet pan with parchment paper or greased tin foil. In a large bowl toss together the zucchini, oats, coconut oil, brown rice krispies, cheerio's, almonds, chia seeds, ground flax and salt. Give it all a good toss.*
- In a bowl or 2 cup glass measuring cup add the peanut butter and honey. Microwave the mixture on high for 30 second intervals until the mixture is smooth and almost bubbling on top (about 2 minutes). Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture over the granola and toss well, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the wet.
- Spread the granola into the pan and press down hard. I used the back of a measuring cup to press the granola into the pan (spray or oil the bottom so it does not stick and press hard!), it works awesome!
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.* The bars will be golden on top. Remove the bars and let them cool completely before cutting. Once cool, cut into bars.
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Dip the granola bars into the melted chocolate and place them on the baking sheet chocolate side up. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes, remove the bars and flip them over, if desired drizzle with any remaining chocolate. Freeze another 5 minutes. Store in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrap. Can be kept in the fridge or in a cool and dark pantry or cupboard.
Notes
*If desired you can toast the oats before mixing them with the remaining ingredients. I find this helps add flavor and if I have time I try to do it. In a large bowl toss the zucchini, oats and melted butter or coconut oil. Spread the mixture out onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven (at 350) for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring the pan once to make sure they don't burn. Remove from the oven and mix with the remaining dry ingredients as directed *You can skip the final baking step if desired and just refrigerate the bars until firm, about 1 hour. Dip in chocolate as directed, store in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 417kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 512mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 6.8mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 5.5mg