John and I did some relaxing, brunching, pizza-ing, and working on a new food photography product. I also bought and returned a pair of overpriced yoga pants out of sheer buyer’s remorse. Does that ever happen to you? Sometimes, we just have to make mistakes like that in life. It’s been a week since I’ve eaten ALL of these granola bars, but I’m still dreaming about them and peeking in the freezer to make sure I didn’t overlook one last piece. They’re that good. These brownie granola bars kind of started out as a failure. The idea was to make date-sweetened brownies and I resorted to adapting my go-to Vegan GF Black Bean Brownies. Problems ensued. I ate one and had to throw the rest away. Not good. Not good at all. Back to the drawing board. In life do you ever find yourself trying to fit a square peg in a round hole? That’s what I was doing with these brownies. I wanted date-sweetened brownies but the blog universe was telling me something different. When I’m trying to fit my square recipe into a round hole, I rethink it. The result was a simple, naturally sweetened, healthy granola bar that was a little on the decadent side – just the way I like it. These bars DO indeed taste like a raw brownie.They require just 7 ingredients.They’re no bake, aside from toasting your oats and nuts (an optional step).They’re loaded with antioxidants, fiber, protein and healthy fats.They’re incredibly satisfying.They’re perfect for breakfast, dessert or a quick snack.They’re freezer-friendly.They’re uber chocolaty.They’re really just kind of perfect. So what do they taste like? Supreme awesomeness. They’re RichDenseMoistSUPER chocolatyNuttyOatySlightly crunchyPerfectly sweet& Mega filling I did have one for breakfast and found it quite filling. But for the most part I ate these as a healthy dessert. I’d go to the freezer, break off 1/3 and snack. Then repeat for the next 30 minutes until it was gone. Self control comes in waves, people, especially with these bars. You MUST try these bars and let me know what you think! Take a photo and tag it (@minimalistbaker) on Instagram so I can see how lovely yours turn out. Happy brownie making!
