xo amys

Ready for the easiest granola bars?

Even if you are not great in the kitchen, these granola bars cannot go wrong in the process and they taste great every single time. It’s basically 3 simple stages: creating a base, adding the filling and baking them in the oven. It requires a sticky base that comes from honey (or golden syrup) and olive oil with touch of flavour from your favourite spices (cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla) and a splash of various nuts/seeds and oats. All this is pressed into a baking tray and voilá, in 20-30 minutes you have heavenly crunchy granola bars! The entire process takes about 35 minutes to make, so have no fear if you have guests coming over for unexpected tea.

I’ve nibbled on these the last week with my morning espresso and made some as a gift for a dinner party I was attending. Garnish the bars with some fresh thyme for a touch of spring and store them in a simple glass maison jar. The bars are vegan and you can easily adjust them according to your diet, for example if you are gluten-free. You really don’t need to measure that strictly, the key is to make sure the mixture is a sticky consistency before it is pressed into the baking tray as this holds the form together. I used a “Tuscany flavoured” honey that has a hint of lavender in it. I love to keep the granola mixture in the oven until the surface is golden (on the verge of being a bit burnt) as I love the caramelized effect on the nuts and I think toasted flax seeds taste like popcorn! These easy bars are a total healthy treat packed with fibre, good fats and vitamins but taste sinfully divine!

Ingredients (serves about 8 large bars)

• about 2-3 tablespoons runny honey (or you can use golden syrup or a mixture of both)
• about 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon cardamom
• Generous pinch of maldon salt flakes
• about 1 cup of each: flax seeds and oats
• about 1/2 cup of each : chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds
• about 1/4 cup each: pecan, cashew, hazel nuts, almonds (can roughly break into a small pieces if you wish as this helps them stick together better)

1. In a large bowl, mix together some olive oil, honey (or syrup), cinnamon, vanilla extract, cardamom, maldon salt.
2. Add in flax seeds, chia, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, robust oats
3. Mix in your favourite nuts (I used pecan, cashew, hazel nuts, almonds) The key is make sure the seeds/nuts are a sticky consistency and if at this point they are too dry, add a bit more honey.
   
4. Pour the mixture into a silicon cake tin (parchment paper lined oven dish will do as well) and place into the oven for about 25 minutes at 170 celsius.
5. Remove from oven and remove from the silicon tray once it has cooled and allow to rest on a cooling rack. Cut into a pieces after it has cooled and garnish with tiny twigs of thyme. The batch lasts for a week in a sealed container.