Chocolate Victory Bar (granola bar)

The nutty Chocolate Victory bars are based on the Luna Bar, Nutz Over Chocolate.

This recipe I found in the Boston Metro and it was provided by Chow.com. In this entry, I will include MY version of the recipe and what ingredients I put in. If you would like the original, please email me or maybe try finding it on the website provided. 

Every single person that tried this bar, so far, enjoyed it very much so – which is why I decided to post it here so the recipe won’t be a secret!

TIP: before you start, I encourage you to be creative and include some other things to your bar. But keep in mind that the first steps, you are roasting the ingredients, so you only want to put in DRY ingredients. I made the mistake of including chocolate chips as well (thinking it will be more chocolate-y…and it all ended up burning!!) 

Ingredients:

• Butter, for coating the pan
• 1 ½ cup crispy brown rice cereal (I used gluten free)
• 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• ½ cup raw sliced almonds
• ¼ cup raw wheat germ
• 2 tablespoons sweetened, untoasted, dried coconut flakes (the recipe calls for unsweetened, but I couldn’t find it, which is why I used sweetened. My suggestion would be NOT to roast the sweetened one, as the recipe calls for – which is what I did. The sugar caused them to burn – which I guess, some people enjoyed that kick? Haha)
• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal (I used Trader Joe’s Blueberry roasted flax seed meal)
• 1 packet of Nestle dark chocolate milk power mix (this was my addition to make it more chocolate-y)
• 1/3 cup agave syrup (the original recipe calls for ½ cup of rice syrup, which I couldn’t find, so I substituted with agave)
• 3 tablespoons natural smooth unsalted peanut butter (I used JIF organic)
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• ½ cup of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (the recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but I love my chocolate)

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan with butter; set aside. 
2. Place rice cereal, oats, almonds, wheat germ, coconut (if you used the unsweetened kind – I would recommend you not putting the coconut in now if you are using sweetened – I made that mistake, but you can try it and see if you like it!), and flax seed meal on a rimmed baking sheet, toss with your hands to combine and spread in an even layer. Bake, stirring halfway through, until almonds are light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
   ~  I didn’t have a baking sheet, so I just used 2 different baking pans. My suggestion here would be to monitor the mix closely (ESPECIALLY if you used sweetened shredded coconut– I didn’t need 12 minutes and my stuff ended up burning. I also put my dark chocolate mix here, but I would suggest you putting it in later.)
3. Place agave syrup, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. If you haven’t already put in your coconut and dark chocolate power mix, do so now. Also, add 1/3 cups of your chocolate chips. Stir until mixture is combined and brown sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, immediately add cereal mixture and stir until combined. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking pan and, using a spoon, spread it evenly, pushing it into the corners.
4. When the mixture is cool enough to handle but is still warm (I waited about 5-10 minutes), evenly and firmly press it into the pan with your hands. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips and place in the oven. Bake until the chips start to melt, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the over and, using a table knife or offset spatula, spread the chocolate into an even layer. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes (I just placed it on my balcony), then place it in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.
5. Remove the nutty oat slab from the pan (you may need to run a knife around the perimeter to loosen it). Cut in half to form two rectangles, then cut each rectangle widthwise into five bars to form 10 bars total. (You can technically cut them however big you’d like. I made mine a bit smaller – more bite size). To store, place back into the pan. You may need to stack them. Then place them into the refrigerator.

For storing the bars, the Metro suggested to wrap each bar individually with plastic, but I did it my way (the way I wrote about above, since I wasn't too big on the whole plastic thing.

You can store the bars at room temperature for up to three days or freeze for up to three weeks; let frozen bars come to room temperature before eating. (If you freeze them, you might need to individually wrap them so they don’t get stuck together!)



*I was able to keep mine in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days (they were eaten in that amount of time, so I can't tell you if they would last longer!)