Granola

Popcorn "Granola" Bars

by:
November 11, 2015
4
1 Ratings
Popcorn "Granola" Bars
Photo by Alpha Smoot
  • Makes one 9- by 13-inch pan of bars
Author Notes

These are slightly adapted from Bulk Bin Snack Bars, with popcorn in place of rolled oats. —Sarah Jampel

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup almond or peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or fruit compote (I, strangely enough, used quince sauce!)
  • Olive oil, as needed
  • 4 to 6 cups popcorn
  • 1 1/2 cups whole walnuts or almonds or a combination
  • 1/3 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/3 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seed
Directions
  1. Line a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with parchment or wax paper so that you have overhang.
  2. In a small pot over low heat, warm the nut butter, honey, and applesauce until melted. You want a sauce that is loose enough to cover the popcorn kernels and become evenly distributed amongst them. You may need to whisk in some olive oil (a couple of tablespoons) to achieve this consistency.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together popcorn, nuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut, sunflower seeds, and flax seed. Pour over the nut butter mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
  4. Dump into the prepared pan, then use plastic wrap to mush the mixture down evenly. Freeze overnight, then slice into bars! Store in the freezer.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Annie Clark
    Annie Clark
  • vrunka
    vrunka
  • Chef Devaux
    Chef Devaux
  • paddlrtom
    paddlrtom

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5 Reviews

paddlrtom
paddlrtom October 30, 2017
I strongly recommend you don't make these bars, especially if looking for portability. They need to stay cold, they crumble, and they are sticky on the hands. The flavor is good but these are a waste of good nuts. Definitely did not perform as advertised. Highly disappointed...
 
Annie C.
Annie C. May 21, 2017
I thought these were delicious! The bars don't hold up great but I don't mind because the taste makes up for the mess. I even poured the extra peanut butter/applesauce/honey syrup over my leftover popcorn.
 
vrunka
vrunka December 1, 2015
I made these last week and was also disappointed. Like Hippolyta mentioned already, the popcorn is unpleasantly soggy. The flavor is tasty enough, but the texture is quite off-putting. But I can't bring myself to throw the remaining bars away because I used so many expensive nuts in them!
 
Hippolyta
Hippolyta November 23, 2015
Not a huge fan. The popcorn gets a little soggy, even if the bars are stored in the freezer.
 
Chef D.
Chef D. November 12, 2015
looks nice!