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Peppermint Bark Granola Bars

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 12 servings

Author Lauren Keating

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups rolled oats
• ½ cup puffed millet or puffed rice
• 3 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 3 tablespoons flax seeds
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 generous pinch sea salt
• ¼ cup peppermint baking chips or crushed candy canes

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9"x9" baking pan with parchment paper, letting the paper hang over the sides slightly.
• Pour the oats and millet onto a rimmed baking sheet. Spread evenly and bake 8-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and stir in the hemp hearts and flax seeds.
• Add the coconut oil, brown sugar, and honey to a saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, 2-3 minutes, or until melted. Stir in the cocoa powder, chocolate chips, chia seeds, and salt. Add the oat mixture, mixing well to fully combine.
• Firmly press the granola into the prepared pan. Top with peppermint chips. Chill until set, about 2 hours in the refrigerator or 30 minutes in the freezer. Lift from the pan and remove the paper. Use a serrated knife to cut into 12 bars.

Sometimes I can be really predictable. I wait impatiently for pumpkin spice lattes every fall and get excited about red cups every winter. When December rolls around, everything peppermint flavored mysteriously jumps into my grocery cart. Yup – I’m that girl.

I was finishing the second bag of peppermint bark of the season (#sorrynotsorry) when inspiration struck: peppermint bark granola bars! I loaded them up with good stuff like chia, flax, and hemp seeds.

Let’s make some peppermint bark granola bars!

I adapted my favorite earl grey granola bar recipe to make the base for these, adding cocoa powder and swapping out regular chocolate chips for white chocolate to make the granola nice and chocolatey.

Mixing the chia seeds in with the liquid ingredients causes them to gel, helping hold the granola bars together better. It also evenly disburses them, so you don’t end up with clumps of seeds. Everything gets nice and thick after the chia seeds are added – it reminds me of brownie batter!

You can add whatever healthy mix-ins you like in addition to the chia seeds. I used hemp hearts and flax seeds; chopped almonds, wheat germ, or sunflower seeds (without shells) would also be great additions.

I spread the granola in a baking pan while it’s still warm and top it with peppermint baking chips. I love these things and hoard them every Christmas (I’ve been known to stand in the kitchen and eat them straight from the bag – it’s a problem.) Chopped peppermint bark, crushed candy canes or hard peppermint candies would also work well. The heat of the granola will melt the chips/candy slightly, so you can spread it into a thin layer on top of the bars.

If you don’t want bars, you can also spread the granola on a baking sheet to cool, stirring it occasionally to break up any big clumps, and mix in the peppermint element at the end.

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Peppermint Bark Granola Bars

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 195kcal

Author Lauren Keating

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups rolled oats
• ½ cup puffed millet or puffed rice
• 3 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 3 tablespoons flax seeds
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 generous pinch sea salt
• ¼ cup peppermint baking chips or crushed candy canes

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9"x9" baking pan with parchment paper, letting the paper hang over the sides slightly.
• Pour the oats and millet onto a rimmed baking sheet. Spread evenly and bake 8-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and stir in the hemp hearts and flax seeds.
• Add the coconut oil, brown sugar, and honey to a saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, 2-3 minutes, or until melted. Stir in the cocoa powder, chocolate chips, chia seeds, and salt. Add the oat mixture, mixing well to fully combine.
• Firmly press the granola into the prepared pan. Top with peppermint chips. Chill until set, about 2 hours in the refrigerator or 30 minutes in the freezer. Lift from the pan and remove the paper. Use a serrated knife to cut into 12 bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g