White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Granola Bars (Homemade Clif Bar)
These white chocolate macadamia nut granola bars are chewy, lightly crunchy, and packed with macadamia nuts and rice crisps. Finished with a white chocolate drizzle, they taste like an upgraded homemade Clif Bar!
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp (102 g) brown rice syrup
- 1/4 cup (34 g) coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 g) peanut butter (or other nut butter)
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp caramel extract (optional)
- 4 (31 g) small dates (pitted)
- 1 cup (112 g) rolled oats
- 1/4 cup (24 g) oat flour
- 1/3 cup (52 g) macadamia nuts
- 1/2 cup (20 g) rice crisps
- 1/3 cup vegan white chocolate chips (to drizzle)
Instructions
- Combine the wet ingredients. Add the brown rice syrup, coconut sugar, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and caramel extract if using, to a saucepan. Heat them over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the coconut sugar is almost melted. This should take 3-4 minutes. Transfer the brown rice syrup mixture to a food processor.
- Process the dates. Add the dates to the food processor and process for 15-20 seconds, scraping down the sides as needed, until the dates are fully combined with the syrup.
- Process the oats and nuts. Add the rolled oats, oat flour, and macadamia nuts. Process for 7-10 seconds, or until the nuts are roughly chopped (about 1/4-inch (0.5 cm). The mixture will be very sticky. This is normal.
- Add the rice crisps. Transfer the sticky mixture to a mixing bowl and add the rice crisps. Use your hands to incorporate the rice crisps evenly into the mixture.
- Shape into bars. Divide the mixture into 6 pieces (of about 2 ounces / 56g) and shape each into a wide bar. Arrange the bars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them dry for about 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour in the fridge.
- Drizzle with chocolate. Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler. Once melted, use a spoon (or a squeeze bottle) to drizzle each bar. Transfer to the refrigerator for one hour or until the chocolate is set.
- You can store each bar, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 1 month.
Notes
Adjust the sweetness to your liking. The bars are quite sweet, so feel free to omit the coconut sugar altogether if you don’t have a sweet tooth.
Don’t overprocess. Avoid overprocessing the oats and macadamia nuts to maintain a chewy and crunchy texture.
Let them air-dry. Right after shaping, the bars will be slightly sticky. Allow them to dry on a baking sheet for about 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour in the fridge.
Thin the white chocolate. If your vegan white chocolate is still too thick after melting, add 1-2 teaspoons of either coconut oil or cocoa butter to thin it. Let it melt and stir to combine.
Use a squeeze bottle. To drizzle the bars, you can use a spoon or transfer the melted white chocolate to a small squeeze bottle. The latter option makes it easier and yields a better-looking drizzle.
