chewy s'mores granola bars

Love the flavor of s’mores, but don’t have the time (or access) to build a campfire? Look no further than this scrumptious granola bar recipe from our friend @thebeetdrop. Easy to make dairy free, these bars are perfect for wrapping up to take on any adventure, tossing in the kids’ lunch boxes, or just enjoying as a mid-day snack. The use of maple syrup keeps the texture of these bars perfectly chewy, while also offering a warm and toasty flavor so you won’t miss the “campfire” taste at all. We are partial to using our new oat milk chocolate for that dark-but-oh-so-creamy taste, but any of Endangered Species’ chocolate goes well with the classic taste of marshmallows and graham crackers. Time to get in the kitchen, this recipe has us wanting “s’more” (sorry, we had to)!

See Recipe Below

*Makes 12 bars (depending on desired size) Ingredients:

• 2 bars of Endangered Species Chocolate (I used Oat Milk + Dark Chocolate)
• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups rice crisp cereal
• 1 cup ground graham crackers (this should be around 5 graham crackers)
• 1 ½ mini marshmallows
• ½ cup plant-based butter
• ⅔ cup maple syrup
• ½ cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
• ¼ cup ground flax seeds
• ½ teaspoon salt

How To:

1. Line a 9 x 13” pan with parchment paper and set aside
2. Preheat oven to 350° F.
3. Chop 1 ½ bars of chocolate into chunks. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, stir together oats, cereal, cracker crumbs, and 1 ¼ cups of marshmallows (reserving the rest for topping). Set aside.
5. Combine butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, and salt in medium pan. Cook on low/medium heat, stirring frequently until everything is melted. Once the mixture starts to bubble, stir consistently. Let gently boil for 3 minutes while stirring. If the boil gets too aggressive, turn down heat. After 3 minutes, take off heat.
6. Add in ground flax seeds and stir well to combine.
7. Pour the hot liquid mixture into your dry ingredients and mix until combined.
8. Add in chocolate chunks and stir to combine.
9. Press mixture into your parchment lined pan. Start with the back of your spoon to spread out mixture. Then use the bottom of a jar or glass to firmly pack the mixture into the pan. Do this for 2 - 4 minutes.

Enjoy! :)

Tips:

• To make graham cracker crumbs, either put in a zip top bag and gently crush with a rolling pin or run them through a food processor until a rough crumble is created.
• When pressing your mixture into the pan, use the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in water. This helps prevent the mixture from sticking to your glass. Just keep dipping the bottom of the glass in water as needed.
• Pressing the mixture gently, but firmly into the parchment lined pan is a big part of what will keep the bars from falling apart! So don’t skimp on the 2-4 minutes of packing it down!
• The chilling process is important! The bars need to be cut when cold.
• Smaller bits of chocolate will melt when mixed with your other ingredients creating a delicious chocolate flavor throughout the bars. The larger chunks won’t melt completely and will offer nice bites of chocolate studded throughout the bar. I like having a variety in my bars so I can have the best of both worlds!