Almond Butter Granola Bars

It's no secret that we love granola bars around here. In fact, we eat a batch of them just as quickly as we eat a batch of cookies! Here's our latest favorite, inspired by Sunbutter Granola Bars.

 Almond Butter Granola Bars

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup protein powder (or more oats)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp chia seeds, ground flax seeds (or wheat germ if you're not gluten-free)
1/2 cup natural almond butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (or just use a full 3/4 cup nut butter)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dates or raisins
1/4 cup dark chocolate squares or chips

Add the almond butter, coconut oil, honey, dates, and chocolate to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the oats, coconut, protein powder, salt, and chia seeds and pulse until everything is incoporated.

Press the dough into a thin rectangle on a foil or Silpat-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and then cut into bars. Allow them to cool before removing from the pan. I bet these can be stored for up to a week in the fridge, but we haven't had a batch last that long!

Worth noting: The dough should be slightly crumbly, but easy for form into a ball that stays intact. If it's too wet, add more oats; if it's too dry, add more honey. When we made a batch with sunflower seed butter, we actually had to add almost 1 full cup of oats since Sunbutter is so drippy. The almond butter made for a much drier batter.