Granola Bars (Reduced Sugar)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on April 16, 2020
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour cooling
Yield
Makes 16 bars
Sugar
5 grams (down from 8)
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. You can substitute extra-virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil for the vegetable oil. Do not substitute quick oats, instant oats, or steel-cut oats in this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Make foil sling for 13 by 9-inch baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil; first sheet should be 13 inches wide and second sheet should be 9 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.
- Process ½ cup oats in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Whisk Sucanat, egg whites, oil, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in large bowl. Stir in processed oats, remaining 1½ cups oats, pecans, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and coconut until thoroughly coated.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread into even layer. Using greased metal spatula, press firmly on mixture until very compact. Bake granola bars until light golden brown and fragrant, about 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Remove bars from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes; do not turn oven off. Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and transfer to cutting board. Cut into 16 bars. Space bars evenly on parchment paper–lined baking sheet and continue to bake until deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
- Transfer bars to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour coolingYield
Makes 16 barsSugar
5 grams (down from 8)Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
It can be hard to find store-bought granola bars that aren’t packed with refined sugars, and even homemade, naturally sweetened versions tend to be overzealous with ingredients like honey and dried fruit. We wanted a low-sugar version of this on-the-go snack. Honey seemed like a perfect option, but its relatively high sugar content meant we couldn’t use nearly enough to hold the bars together. Sucanat was a better option: During baking, the Sucanat melted, glazing the oats, seeds, and nuts and helping to bind everything together. But the holding power of the Sucanat wasn't enough on its own, and the bars were still far too delicate, breaking apart in tasters' hands. To supplement, we turned to egg whites, which contain both water and protein. The egg whites were able to fully coat the nuts and seeds, and when the water baked off, the protein that was left formed a crisp binding layer. To keep our bars from drying out too much, we decided to grind some of the oats into an oat flour, which helped hold on to some of the moisture. For our nuts and seeds, we chose a flavorful combination of pecans, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and unsweetened flaked coconut. To pump up the flavor even more, we added vanilla, a little cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg.
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. You can substitute extra-virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil for the vegetable oil. Do not substitute quick oats, instant oats, or steel-cut oats in this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Make foil sling for 13 by 9-inch baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil; first sheet should be 13 inches wide and second sheet should be 9 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.
- Process ½ cup oats in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Whisk Sucanat, egg whites, oil, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in large bowl. Stir in processed oats, remaining 1½ cups oats, pecans, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and coconut until thoroughly coated.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread into even layer. Using greased metal spatula, press firmly on mixture until very compact. Bake granola bars until light golden brown and fragrant, about 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Remove bars from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes; do not turn oven off. Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and transfer to cutting board. Cut into 16 bars. Space bars evenly on parchment paper–lined baking sheet and continue to bake until deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
- Transfer bars to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve.
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