Raw Strawberry Almond Granola Bars

As a child, I loved granola bars, especially the ones with the chocolate coating. I’d eat the chocolate coating and then the rest of the bar was, like, second best…no shocker as to why I became a chocolatier! 🙂 But these bars themselves are so amazing that you don’t even need the chocolate… however, let’s be honest in saying everything benefits from chocolate.

These bars use a couple of past recipes I shared with you, the Maple Oat Clusters and Candied Coconut Clusters. Both are epic recipes in and of themselves, but mix em together, add a bit of this and that, drizzle with chocolate and things get real very fast!

45g ( 3 tbsp ) almond butter ( can use any nut or seed butter )
30g ( 2 tbsp ) cacao butter, melted
20g ( 1 tbsp ) maple syrup

75g ( ½ cup ) Maple Oat Clusters
40g ( ½ cup ) Coconut Clusters
1 tbsp freeze dried strawberries
6 drops strawberry medicine flower extract ( optional )
½ tsp almond extract ( optional )
Pinch sea salt

Method

• Be sure you have roughly processed the maple clusters before using in this recipe. There should be lots of texture, some smaller bits and some larger, but nothing bigger than a small bite size.

• Mix together the first set of ingredients in a large bowl.

• Add the second set of ingredients and mix well, breaking down the coconut clusters a little bit as you go.

• The texture overall should be like granola.

• Transfer the mixture to a mould of your choice. I used this rectangular silicone mould, but you could also set in paper muffin cups or any silicone mould.

• Set in the fridge about 10-15 minutes. While you wait, melt the chocolate for dipping, if you’d like.

• Here’s a video on how to finish the bars – once dipped, I recommend storing at room temp in an airtight container as storing in the fridge may cause condensation to build on the chocolate. Alternatively, you can store them for months, before dipping, in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.