Recipe: Charlotte’s Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars

Who says homemade granola bars have to taste like wheat germ? Not Anne-Marie Bonneau. The Sunnyvale blogger and author of “The Zero-Waste Chef” (Avery, $25) cookbook calls these peanut butter and cocoa powder-laced bars “too good.”

Created by her daughter, Charlotte, they feature oats, flaxseed meal, honey and cranberries for a perfect not-too-sweet treat or hiking snack. Mom’s addition of a “flax egg” — flax meal, water and time — helps bind the ingredients and is cheaper than buying eggs these days.

Charlotte’s Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars

Makes 15 bars

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon golden or brown flaxseed meal

2½ tablespoons water

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

½ cup seeds of whatever type you have on hand, like pumpkin or flax

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup unsalted peanut butter

1/3 cup honey, maple syrup or brown rice syrup

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup shelled sunflower seeds to press into top

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

Make an egg replacement — a “flax egg” — by combining the golden or brown flaxseed meal and 2½ tablespoons water. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, seeds, cranberries, brown sugar, salt, chocolate chips and cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey or maple syrup, egg replacement, coconut oil and vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine well, using your hands if necessary.

Press the mixture into the greased baking dish until the surface is flat and relatively even. Sprinkle with  sunflower seeds and press them firmly into the granola mixture. Use the flat bottom of a dry measuring cup to flatten everything well.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden around the edges.

Allow to cool completely. Cut into bars. Store in a glass jar or container at room temperature for up to a week.

— Courtesy of Anne-Marie Bonneau