The Food Factor: Peanut Butter Chocolate Trail Mix Bites

Video by Jonathan Parrish

Looking for a fun recipe that you can make with your kids? These no-bake treats are loaded with fiber, use ingredients you probably have on hand in your pantry, and are a terrific homemade snack.  

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Trail Mix Bites hit the spot, and they do not require baking! The combination of nuts, oats, tangy dried fruits, peanut butter, and chocolate checks all of the boxes for me. Next time I make these, I may try cherries instead of raisins for a different flavor. Don’t you love experimenting in the kitchen?

Crew review: we found this recipe to be a little crumbly, even after we pressed really hard to make the mixture more compact. But the flavors are delicious!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Trail Mix Bites

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup whole almonds
• 3 ounces cashews
• 1 1/2 cup oats dry, old-fashioned
• 1/3 cup flaxseed ground
• 1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
• 2.5 ounces cranberries dried
• 1/3 cup raisins, seedless, not packed
• 1 cup all-natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (do not use if watching sodium intake)

Directions:

1. Line an 8- × 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving extra on the sides to pull the bars out of the pan. (For thinner granola bars, use a 13- × 9-inch baking dish.)
2. Roughly chop the almonds and cashews or pulse the nuts gently in a food processor or blender until they’re in medium-small pieces. Place the chopped nuts in a large bowl with the old-fashioned oats, ground flax, mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and raisins. Mix together.
3. In a separate, microwave-safe bowl, melt the peanut butter.
4. Stir in the honey and sea salt (if using salt).
5. Allow the mixture to cool slightly (so the chocolate chips won’t melt).
6. Pour the peanut butter mixture in the bowl with the dry ingredients.
7. Fold ingredients together with a spatula until everything is coated.
8. Press mixture into the parchment-lined baking dish, packing it tightly.
9. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
10. Pull the granola slab out of the pan with the edges of the parchment paper.
11. Cut into 16 “bites.”
12. These granola bites are best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. (Or you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.)

This recipe comes from our friends at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

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