Food Recipes Granola Bars With Apricots, Oats, and Almonds 3.4 (10) 5 Reviews Just looking at these bars has our stomachs growling. By Colleen Riley Colleen Riley Colleen is a pastry chef and chocolate expert who has spent years working in notable kitchens in both Los Angeles, California, and New York. She frequently contributes recipes to Real Simple. Highlights: * Assisted prolific chocolatier Jacques Torres and worked with Eric Lind * Current chef de cuisine at Valerie Confections in Los Angeles, California Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 16, 2016 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Philip Friedman; Styling: Colleen Riley Hands On Time: 20 mins Chill Time: 3 hrs Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins Yield: 12 serves Sure, you could grab a box of snack bars at the supermarket, but have you ever looked at their ingredients list? Many manufacturers add a host of unpronounceable ingredients to keep their bars shelf stable for years, not to mention piles of sugar that rival amounts found in candy bars. Instead, make your own healthy granola bars. We recommend mixing these up on Sunday so you can grab them from the fridge throughout the week—morning, noon, or night. For this treat, simply combine roasted oats, almonds, and pepitas with chopped apricots and salt, stir in a warmed mixture of almond butter and maple syrup, and then smooth out and chill for up to 3 days. Don’t skip the step of toasting the oats, almonds, and pepitas. It takes off the raw edge and adds an extra layer of nutty flavor. Feel free to replace the almond butter with a different seed or nut butter (like peanut or sunflower butter). RELATED: 30 Tasty, Healthy Snacks to Help You Bid Farewell to Hanger for Good Ingredients Unsalted butter, for the pan ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats ½ cup raw almonds, roughly chopped 1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 1 cup dried apricots ¼ teaspoon fine salt ¼ cup almond butter ¼ cup pure maple syrup Directions Heat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment, buttering in between and leaving an overhang on all sides, and then butter the parchment. Spread the oats, almonds, and pepitas on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast, tossing once, until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Process apricots in a food processor until finely chopped, 2 to 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine them with the toasted oat mixture and salt. Combine almond butter and maple syrup in a small pot and cook over medium heat until bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour over the toasted oat mixture and then stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula or knife. Chill until set, at least 3 hours. Cut into 12, 4 by 2-inch pieces. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Rate it Print