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close view of broken dark chocolate brownie granola bar

Dark Chocolate Brownie Granola Bars

Yield: 24 Bars (9X13-inch pan of bars)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Bars:

  • 2 cups (200 g) old-fashioned oats , (gluten-free, if needed)
  • 1 cup (120 g) chopped almonds
  • ½ cup (43 g) Dutch-process or dark cocoa powder (see note)
  • ½ cup (57 g) almond flour (see note)
  • ¾ cup (64 g) sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup (170 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Syrup:

  • ½ cup (113 g) coconut oil, melted
  • ¼ cup (53 g) brown sugar
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, cocoa, almond flour, and coconut.
  • In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the coconut oil, brown sugar, honey, salt and vanilla. It's ok if it separates a bit.
  • Stir the syrup mixture into the dry ingredients until evenly combined. Add the chocolate chips and toss together.
  • Press the mixture lightly into the prepared pan until it is in an even layer. The harder you press, the less crumbly the bars will be, but don't overdo it. A gentle press with the palms of your hands should do it.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes (decrease time for softer bars or increase for extra crunchiness). The bars will look soft coming out of the oven but will set up and get crispier as they cool.

Notes

Cocoa Powder: I use Dutch-process cocoa in this recipe for a richer, darker flavor. You can try subbing in natural, unsweetened cocoa powder (I haven't tried it). It'll likely make the bars slightly less sweet and not quite as dark chocolate.
Almond Flour: you can sub in all-purpose or oat flour (easy to make at home: just process oats in a blender until finely ground) for the almond flour. The flour is one of the things that gives these a special texture (and sets them apart from a straight up granola bar).