Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Toasted oats and almonds bound with a honey-brown sugar syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage, so these bars stay genuinely chewy and slice clean instead of falling apart in your bag. Mini chocolate chips get folded in once the mix has cooled enough not to melt them, plus a scatter pressed into the top for the bakery-case look. One 8x8 pan makes twelve lunchbox-ready bars in about half an hour of work.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 cup crisp rice cereal
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 6 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup creamy almond or peanut butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch metal pan with two crossed strips of parchment, leaving overhang on all four sides — this is how you lift the slab out later. Lightly butter the parchment.
2. Spread the oats and chopped almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once halfway, until the oats smell nutty and the almonds are pale gold. Scrape them into a large heatproof bowl and stir in the crisp rice cereal, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, and fine sea salt. Leave the mix warm — warm dry mix absorbs the syrup better.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the honey, brown sugar, and butter. Stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until a candy thermometer reads 240°F. This soft-ball stage is what makes the bars chewy and sliceable rather than loose granola.
4. Take the pan off the heat and immediately whisk in the almond butter and vanilla until completely smooth. It will look glossy and slightly thickened.
5. Pour the hot syrup over the oat mixture and fold with a sturdy silicone spatula for a full minute, scraping from the bottom, until every oat is coated and no dry pockets remain.
6. Let the mixture cool in the bowl for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is warm but no longer steaming (about 120°F — comfortable to touch). Fold in 1/2 cup of the mini chocolate chips; a few will streak, which is what you want.
7. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Lay a sheet of parchment on top and press hard with the flat bottom of a measuring cup or glass, working from the center out to the corners, until the slab is dense, level, and about 3/4 inch thick. Press for longer than feels necessary — compaction is the difference between a bar and a pile.
8. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips over the top, cover with the parchment again, and press gently so they embed. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
9. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hours, until firm and fully set.
10. Lift the slab out using the parchment overhang and set it on a cutting board. Cut with a long, sharp knife in a single firm downward press (do not saw) into 12 bars: cut in half, then each half into 6. Wipe the blade between cuts if chocolate builds up.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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