Chocolate Chip Granola Bites

Who doesn’t love granola. Crunchy, nutty, maple-y, spiced and a great way to start the day. It’s nice as a snack too. Loose granola is fine for when you are at home, but what about when you are on the go? Here is a portable version of my roasted maple granola – chocolate chip granola bites.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bites

As I was handing zip bags of granola to friends to take on their flight home, I realized it would not be so easy to eat loose granola on an airplane.  I needed to come up with an more transportable version that would work for when you want to carry it with you. I used my own granola recipe and baked them in a mini muffin pan for Chocolate chip granola bites. The perfect size to tuck into a handbag, briefcase, backpack or lunchbox.

Ingredient Tips

To make the granola bites, I added egg whites to make the mixture stick together. Instead of adding dried fruit (optional in my granola), I decided on chocolate chips as a treat. For chocolate chips, I used sugar-free chips made by Lily’s Sweets. They taste terrific. These are the same chips I used in the Forgotten Cookies recipe a few weeks ago.

As we eat gluten-free, I used gluten-free rolled oats as the base. For the coconut, use a fine, dry, coconut like Bob’s Red Mill Fine Macaroon Coconut. It’s unsweetened and unsulphured. For maple syrup, only use the real thing. Cinnamon is a natural as the warm spice flavor. For something a little different, try Chinese Five Spice, a warming, aromatic blend that includes cinnamon.

Tool Tips

To bake these you will need a mini muffin pan with 24 cups or wells. The one I use has wells 1 1/4″ deep and 2″ across measured on the inside. To get them out of the pan, one handy (and cheap) little tool I use a lot in the kitchen is a mini off-set spatula. Find them online, at cooking stores and restaurants supply stores.

Print Pin

Chocolate Chip Granola Bites

Crunchy maple-spiced granola bites are easy to transport as a snack or breakfast on the run. Try them alone or with a mini container of plan Greek yogurt to start the day. For chocolate chips, I use Lily’s which are delicious, dark chocolate and sugar-free.

Ingredients

Dry

• 1 1/2 cups  rolled oats 6 ounces, gluten-free preferably
• 1/2 cup dry, fine, unsweetened coconut thread 1 1/2 ounces, Bobs Red Mill
• 3 tablespoons  finely chopped walnuts 1 ounce
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped slivered blanched almonds 1 ounce
• 2 tablespoons raw unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 3 tablespoons sugar-free dark chocolate chips Lilys Sweets

Wet

• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or Chinese Five Spice
• 2 egg whites

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 325º. Spray a mini muffin pan (see post for notes). In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the oats, coconut, nuts, and seeds. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, spice and egg whites. Pour the liquid into the dry mix and story until the dry mix is completely and evenly coated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• In the sprayed mini muffin pan, pack approximately 2 tablespoons of the granola into each well. Tamp down firmly. Bake approximately 25 minutes (that is what it takes in my convection oven), until firm and the edges are just a light golden brown.
• Allow to cool completely in the pan, then pop out each bite with a mini spatula or thin knife.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g