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    Home » Recipes » Bars

    Dark Chocolate and Cherry Granola Bars

    Published: September 23, 2013 · Last Updated: May 5, 2022 by Heather · This post may contain affiliate links · 24 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These dark chocolate and cherry granola bars are a delicious and healthy snack when you're on the go! Using natural ingredients, these homemade bars are a great alternative to their store-bought counterparts.

    overhead shot of granola bars

    Why you'll love this recipe

    This recipe for DIY granola bars comes courtesy of my mom, who sent it in the mail. I think it's an excellent recipe that can be easily adapted to whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand around the house. Enjoy!

    Heather's helpful hints

    This recipe is pretty forgiving so feel free to try out a mixture of nuts and dried fruits that sounds tasty to you. I was thinking that macadamia nuts with white chocolate and coconut would be a fun mixture!

    closeup of cut granola bars

    Recipe variations

    There are so many variations to this recipe for dark chocolate and cherry granola bars recipe. Here are some creative ideas for you!

    • white chocolate + macadamia nuts
    • butterscotch + coconut
    • milk chocolate + cranberries
    • plain almonds
    • cashews or pine nuts

    Recipe

    Dark Chocolate and Cherry Granola Bars

    These dark chocolate and cherry granola bars are a delicious and healthy snack when you're on the go! Using natural ingredients, these homemade bars are a great alternative to their store-bought counterparts.
    Print Pin Comment
    5 from 1 vote
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cooling Time: 2 hours hours
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
    Yield: 12 bars

    Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
    • ½ cup whole almonds coarsely chopped
    • ⅓ cup honey
    • ¼ cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
    • ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup dried cherries coarsely chopped
    • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

    Instructions

    • Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil. Then lightly oil or spray with cooking spray.
    • Add oats and almonds to a small baking sheet then bake 5 minutes, stir and bake another 3 to 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Transfer to a large bowl.
    • Combine butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract and the salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves. Pour butter mixture in to bowl with toasted oats and almonds. Mix well. Let cool about 5 minutes then add cranberries and a ¼ cup of the mini chocolate chips. Stir to combine.
    • Transfer oat mixture to lined pan then use a rubber spatula or damp finger tips to firmly press the mixture into the pan. Scatter remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips over pressed granola mixture then use a rubber spatula to gently press them into the top. Cover then refrigerate at least 2 hours. Remove block of granola mixture from pan then peel away aluminum foil. Cut into 12 bars.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 127IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
    Did you try this recipe?!Mention @mysweetprecision on Instagram and hashtag it #mysweetprecision!

    Did you make this recipe?! First, let me say THANK YOU for giving it a try!

    Please leave us a rating and feedback in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I always love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what went well — and didn't — with a recipe!

    Happy Baking!
    Heather

    « Carrot Cake Cupcakes
    Classic French Croissants »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Lindsay Noel

      September 21, 2019 at 10:17 pm

      Does this need to stay in the frig or do you leave it out after you cut it?

      Reply
      • Heather @ Sweet Precision

        September 23, 2019 at 7:36 am

        Hi Lindsay! I kept mine in an airtight plastic container!

        Reply
    2. Jen

      March 20, 2019 at 1:13 pm

      ...but there are no cherries in the recipe. I’m going to substitute cherries for the cranberries!

      Reply
      • Heather @ Sweet Precision

        March 20, 2019 at 2:27 pm

        Gah! You're totally right Jen! The pictures that I posted and the ingredients ARE cranberries so your substitution will be perfect! I actually did make a batch with cherries (which was delicious) so definitely feel free to use them as well! I found the cherries to be a nice tart compliment to the chocolate.

        Reply
    3. laurasmess

      October 08, 2013 at 7:39 pm

      Yum! These bars look amazing Heather! I love chocolate and cherries together, particularly with chewy oats. You could market these and make a killing! Re college, great insights in this post. It's been almost 8 years since I graduated from uni and I feel old too. I hate it! But I could possibly eat one of these bars and feel a little better... they'd make wonderful work snacks too! xx

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        October 09, 2013 at 10:52 pm

        I was totally surprised how old I feel around campus!! But then the best thing about being done with college is that you have time for things like a baking blog! I've always loved to cook, but I'll admit that I didn't do too much when I was in college. Usually only when I was trying to procrastinate on an assignment or something ;)

        Reply
    4. MOM

      October 03, 2013 at 11:39 am

      I have a grand idea. Let's make these bars together when we visit and then dad and I can munch on them all the way home!! I am getting hungry just looking at your pretty pictures.

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        October 03, 2013 at 4:30 pm

        I think that sounds like a wonderful idea! You and dad can pick your own flavors that you want to add to the granola and then we can make them on Sunday night. It will be a baking adventure :)

        Reply
    5. Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)

      October 01, 2013 at 4:11 pm

      These bars look fabulous! (It's seriously the first time I've ever been tempted to consider making my own granola bars, too... and I've seen a lot of other recipes on other blogs. : )

      And I like your list; I was also a college freshman more than a decade ago. ...but was Amazon even around back then for us to order all of our textbooks online? Haha, I can't even remember! It was definitely still the era of huge desktop computers with pitiful amounts of storage space, and AOL instant messenger...

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        October 01, 2013 at 9:10 pm

        Ha! I remember those days! I had a huge desktop computer too. Totally forgot about AOL messenger but I was on it all the time! Good point about Amazon though, it probably wasn't around!!

        >

        Reply
    6. Gwen Jackson

      September 29, 2013 at 5:47 am

      Your mom told me about this recipe when I saw her on Friday night. I can't wait to try it and share with my sisters because we all love granola. I might break it into smaller chunks to eat with my daily yogurt.

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        September 29, 2013 at 10:33 am

        Hi Gwen! My mom was telling me that you guys had such a wonderful time on Friday. I only wish that I could have been there! The desserts that you made looked so delicious :) This is a tasty recipe, I had it with fruit in the morning for a couple breakfasts after I made it.

        Reply
    7. Heather (Sweet Precision)

      September 25, 2013 at 7:35 pm

      Thanks Francesca! How interesting, I didn't know that. How many years of schooling are there before postgraduate university? I still remember leaving my parents for college- it was so difficult at first but then got easier once I started meeting people.

      Reply
      • Stefano

        September 29, 2013 at 10:11 am

        Hi Heather,
        Wonderful post, yummy granola bars, gorgeous photographs and great advice for college freshmen to top it all off!
        To answer your question for Francesca, in Italy kids go through 13 years of lower education (5 elementary, 3 middle school, 5 high school) starting age 6. When they graduate from high school at age 19, those who want to continue to study need to choose right away which postgratuate university to apply for (law school, med school, engineering...) and generally postgraduate school is another 5 years before graduation. One of the reasons why the Italian system is flawed is that when you are 19 you generally have no idea what you really want to do in life and locking yourself in a specific path so early can be a mistake.

        Reply
        • Heather (Sweet Precision)

          September 29, 2013 at 8:43 pm

          Thank you Stefano! And what a wonderful explanation of the school system, I really wasn't familiar with it at all. I can definitely imagine that it's tricky essentially deciding what you want to do with your life at age 19. I don't think I had any idea what I wanted when I was that young!!

          Reply
    8. Francesca

      September 25, 2013 at 4:44 pm

      Great post, Heather!!! One to treasure for the years to come ... for my daughter. We didn't go to college because in Italy we do not have it: Stefano and I went directly from high school to postgraduate university.
      Back to the point, I love everything about your granola bars: how gorgeous and yummy they look in the pictures, the ingredients, the color of the napkin. Lovely done, Heather. :-)

      Reply
    9. Nancy Cramer

      September 24, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      Great recipe Heather -- but better yet, what wonderful Words of Wisdom you spoke!

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        September 24, 2013 at 6:59 pm

        Thank you Nancy! It was a fun exercise coming up with my list :)

        Reply
    10. Just Add Attitude

      September 24, 2013 at 5:43 am

      Mmmm, these sound delicious and healthy too. I have only recently started eating granola - I know everyone else has been munching it for years - but I was late to the granola party! I have yet to have a granola bar, perhaps I should bake up a batch of these.

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        September 24, 2013 at 10:30 am

        I've never been a fan of plain granola myself, but I absolutely love granola bars as a snack! So easy to just stick in my purse and then pull out when I need a little snack on the go. I hope you enjoy them if you give the recipe a whirl :)

        Reply
    11. Jan

      September 24, 2013 at 12:15 am

      I love granola bars! Told myself I'd make some myself one day. Think I might try since you supplied the recipe. I think the boys would like a s'mores one.

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        September 24, 2013 at 10:27 am

        Granola bars had been on my "to bake" list forEVER! Once I finally got around to them, I couldn't believe how easy it was. I think the s'mores idea sounds delicious! I might even have to try those! Just an FYI, they keep best in the fridge for storage!

        Reply
    12. Tracy Lee Karner

      September 23, 2013 at 10:08 pm

      My two favorite sweet tastes: chocolate and cherry!

      And despite the fact that my college years are decades in the past, I'm making these yummy-sounding snack bars tomorrow!

      Reply
      • Heather (Sweet Precision)

        September 24, 2013 at 10:28 am

        Agreed, one of my favorite pairings as well! Sometimes I get the chocolate covered cherries from the grocery store and devour them in a day or two :)

        Reply

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