Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!)

Dark Chocolate and Coconut stand out in these healthy, (Kashi copycat!) Granola Bars!

If the amount of photos in this post is any indication of how much I LOVE these bars, then yes. Just YES. Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

Snacks! Ohmygosh. They’re close to one of my favorite parts of the day. Not just for the fact that snacks are SO good, but I constantly crave them. Like all day long. I could just keep on shoving my face. Most days I do..I have no self-control.

I’ve tried to snack on just carrots or celery, and sometimes when I have a big bowl of hummus, I can totally pull that off. But many times…just no.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

I like sugar! I like salt! I like lots of flavor in whatever I am going to be consuming! My oldest son has turned into the ultimate snacker. He’s not a huge fan of big meals, he just snacks all day long. From breakfast until dinner..he just keeps eating. Both of my kids do actually, but my youngest really loves a good, solid meal too. Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

Anyways, I think he learned that bad snacking habit from yours truly. C’est la vie.

I usually keep a box or two of granola bars on hand to toss in my purse, when I know we will be running errands for a few hours. My kids are great, but food always helps hold them a little longer when they’re getting fidgety.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

My most favorite lately are the Kashi Chocolate and Coconut Bars. This is definitely not a sponsored post, I just sincerely cannot get enough of them. SO this is kind of a copycat of those bars.

My kids and I can plow through a box of them if I’m not careful..they love them as much as I do. So I figured, why not try and make them at home? Then I really know what is going in them.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

You know when you envision something to be good, and then the outcome exceeds your expectations? Well yes, that is what happened here. I believe these are better than the Kashi ones, if I do say so myself.

Even my coconut, granola, hating husband couldn’t get enough of these. We were eating them as dessert after dinner for a few days..and as snacks too! Complete perfection of granola bars.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

You’ve got the dark chocolate, nuts, oats, flax, chia seeds, and lots of flavors bringing these bars together. They’re the ultimate indulgence that you can actually feel pretty guilt-free about! Healthy fats, antioxidants, fiber, and loads of texture and flavor!

These are becoming a permanent staple in our house!

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 26 Bars

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!)

Dark Chocolate and Coconut stand out in these healthy, (Kashi copycat!) Granola Bars!

Ingredients

    For the Bars
  • 1 cup whole almonds, divided
  • 1 cup walnuts, divided
  • 1 ½ cup old fashion oats, divided
  • ¼ cup ground flax
  • 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
  • ½ cup coconut flakes
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 Tablespoons almond butter
  • For the Chocolate Glaze
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • 10 ounces dark chocolate (about 1 ½ cups chopped)
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts,
  • ¼ cup chopped coconut flakes

Directions

  1. In a food processor, add a ½ cup of almonds, ½ cup of walnuts, and ¾ cup of the oats. Process until it turns into a fine powder, about 1 minute. (Be careful not to over process, you don’t want it to start sticking together.)
  2. Roughly chop the remaining almonds and walnuts. Add them to a large bowl along with the remaining ¾ cup oats and the processed powder.
  3. Add to the bowl the ground flax, chia seeds, and coconut flakes. Toss together.
  4. Heat a small pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the honey, coconut oil, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, and the almond butter. Stir constantly until everything is fully melted and begins to foam. Allow it to foam and bubble for about a minute before immediately pouring it over the nuts and oats mixture.
  5. Using a rubber spatula, stir everything together until it’s evenly distributed.
  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13x6’’ pan with parchment paper, enough to hang over two of the sides.
  7. Pour the granola mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Now using a metal spatula, begin pressing down really hard all along the edges and through the middle. (I was using my body weight a lot of the time. If you don’t press down so that it’s very tight, then when you go to cut them later, they’ll just fall apart on you. So it’s important to really put some pressure on it.)
  8. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until firm. Remove and allow to cool completely.
  9. To make the chocolate glaze, melt 1 TB coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chocolate chips, and stir often while they continue to melt until it becomes a perfectly smooth glaze.
  10. Pour it over the bars and using a spatula, spread it to the edges and even it out.
  11. Sprinkle the top with additional walnuts and coconut flakes if desired.
  12. Allow the top to set. (I made these in the afternoon, and it wasn’t completely firm until the next morning.) You can certainly cut into them sooner, but the chocolate will probably just melt off the edges.
  13. Once fully set, pick up both sides of the overhanging parchment paper and remove from the pan. Chop into desired size. (I cut mine to be about 1”x3” and I got 26 Bars out of them.)

Notes

It looks like there are a lot of steps and it takes forever, but these really do come together in 30 minutes. Its the waiting for the chocolate to set and slightly harden that takes forever! (But no one says you can't cut into them when it's still all melty!)

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars (Healthy!) | Fabtastic Eats

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