I've been avoiding granola for the past couple years because it's too tempting, but colder days and walks with my dog require energy, so I turned back to granola in the form of Tahini Granola Bars made with my favorite tahini, Soom.
The recipe starts like most granola bars. It calls for oats, lots of nuts, and a sticky binder to hold it all together once it cools. The binder here is maple syrup, which does the job well when combined with nut butter, tahini and a little ground flaxseed. Here's what the bars look like unbaked.
When baked, the texture is chewy rather than crunchy, and the bars hold their shape when sliced but bend just a little. Toasting the oats and nuts first adds depth of flavor, as do the sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
These came together very quickly and I'm looking forward to making them again in other flavors. Right now the first batch is in the freezer, so they do freeze well.
Ingredient Rundown
- Oats --Old fashioned type, but quick should be okay too.
- Nuts -- Kirkland unroasted, unsalted work perfectly. Chop before toasting.
- Tahini -- Soom brand.
- Mixed Nut Butter -- Any kind should work, even peanut butter.
- Maple Syrup -- Measure by weight if you can or use generous tablespoons.
- Vanilla, cinnamon and salt -- If you use Diamond instead of Morton, increase it by a pinch or two.
- Flaxseed -- This really helps with binding, but you can leave it out if you're okay with slightly more crumbliness.
- Chocolate Chips -- Use regular size ones rather than minis so that they won't melt. Large chocolate chunks should also work.
Recipe
Tahini Granola Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted mixed nuts (mix of almonds, cashews, etc.) plus a little extra
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons good quality tahini (50 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoons almond butter or another type nut butter (25 grams)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, generous (40 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt (Morton)
- ½ tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped dried apricots or other fruit
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spread the nuts on a cutting board and roughly chop them with a chef's knife. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet and spread across half the sheet.
- Spread the oats across the other half of the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the nuts are toasted, oats should be lightly toasted.
- Meanwhile, line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the tahini, nut butter and maple syrup in a large microwave safe mixing bowl. Heat on 50% power for about 30 seconds just to soften and slightly melt. Do not overheat.
- Stir the salt, vanilla and cinnamon into the nut butter mixture, then add the warm toasted oat mixture and the ground flax. Stir just until combined. Mixture should be sticky and slightly crumbly, neither too dry not too wet. Sprinkle in the apricots or other dried fruit.
- Let it cool slightly if it is very warm so as not to melt the chips, then scatter about half of it over the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over evenly, then sprinkle on the rest of the oat mixture. Using a second sheet of parchment, press down as flat as you can. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 325F. Let cool just slightly, then score the bar to make two rows of 4. Do not remove parchment from the pan. Let cool completely.
- Lift from pan when cool and separate the bars. Pull them apart.
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