Banana Almond Butter Granola Bars

Success! I have at last found a recipe for granola bars that does not use honey or sugar. Thanks to Anja for posting this recipe. Almond butter and banana serve as a binder and the bar is filled with oats, nuts, and dried fruit. I substituted walnuts for the almonds, dried cranberries for the cherries, and used a combination of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in the 1/4 c. mixed seeds. The only change I would make is including dried coconut (instead of the cranberries) and adding some salt. It was actually quite sweet with the banana, the natural almond butter, and dried fruit.

Before baking

In terms of baking - I used a 9x5" loaf pan. This produces a very thick granola bar - it's probably more accurate to describe it as a baked oat bar (not so much crunchy), but I suspect if you cooked it in an 8x8" pan, it might get much crunchier. The thickness of the bars is about 1 1/4" or a bit more. I also baked it for about 35 minutes to get a bit of a crunchy crust on the top.

Cut into squares!

So excited to take these for snacks!