These chewy, no-bake granola bars are made in part with dried spent grains from brewing. They have a hearty texture and are packed with good stuff including milk chocolate chips and tart dried cherries.Use flaked quinoa and amaranth like I did, or substitute with quick oats. You'll love these no-bake spent grain granola bars, and so will your kids!
¼cuprolled amaranthlightly toasted (or substitute 3/4 cup rolled oats for the quinoa and amaranth)
⅔cupmixed nutscoarsely chopped
⅓cupunsweetened flaked coconut
⅓cuproasted and salted pepitas
⅓cupchopped milk chocolate chips
⅓cupdried tart cherries
½cupcashew butter
½cupalmond butteror substitute 1 cup natural peanut butter or sun butter for the cashew and almond butters
¼cupsorghum syrup
6Tablespoonshoneyor substitute 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons honey for the sorghum and honey
¼cupcocoa powder
¾teaspoonkosher saltor 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Line a 9" square pan with non-stick foil (my preference), waxed paper, or parchment paper. Cut to fit into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Lay 1 strip 1 way and the other at a 90-degree angle so you have foil/paper extending above the edges of your pan on all four sides. Set aside.
Coarsely chop the mixed nuts, pepitas, milk chocolate chips, and dried cherries. Set aside.
Toast quinoa and amaranth in a dry skillet over medium/medium-low heat until fragrant. Pour onto a plate to cool to room temperature.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine dried spent grains, toasted quinoa and amaranth, nuts, coconut, pepitas, milk chocolate, and tart dried cherries.
Use the paddle attachment and mix on low just to combine the ingredients evenly.
In another bowl, mix together the nut butter/s, sorghum syrup, honey, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine into a thick paste.
Scrape the wet ingredients into the mixer bowl and combine with the dry on low speed until all dry ingredients are lightly coated with the paste.
Scrape into your prepared pan, and, using your hands and/or a large spatula, pack evenly and thoroughly into an even 1/2" layer. Make sure to press the mixture down well into the corners.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Slice into 16 square bars using a very sharp knife or a sharp pizza cutter.
Wrap each bar individually in waxed paper and store in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can also keep the whole batch refrigerated and grab a bar when you need one.
For longer storage, freeze individually wrapped bars in a large zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight or allow to sit out at room temperature until thawed but still cool.
Enjoy!
Notes
Vary the flavors by adding spices such as cinnamon--you can even omit the cocoa powder. In that case, reduce the amount of honey by 2 Tablespoons.Experiment with using citrus zests and other volatile flavors that might be lost in a baked granola bar.Feel free to use any type of nuts and/or seeds that you like. Use dark chocolate chips and sweet dried cherries. Or even freeze-dried raspberries would be delicious.