Mincemeat Granola Snack Bars! Right when you would be thinking about what to do with the leftover mincemeat from your Christmas fruit cake and mince pies you had made last year. I know, it sounds a tad bit late, but you know, I am quite lazy in cleaning up my fridge sometimes. And some of the times, it might take a couple of months too. Now that might look gross to you, but thank God, stuff like mincemeat keeps pretty well even for that long a duration. Last year I had made leftover mincemeat fruitcake cookies with this gorgeous stuff from the holidays. And I love mincemeat filling, it tastes just divine and takes you back to the holiday time once again. And that is the reason, every year I soak the dry fruit more than what I would need for a certain recipe. Last year, when I was done baking enough of Christmas Mince Pies, I was still left with it which was good enough to bake a smallish fruitcake. I wanted to do so, but then that just kept on getting procrastinated. And with each passing day, I had lost the feel of baking fruitcake either. I always struggle to make a good breakfast on a work day in winters {too lazy to leave the blanket and get up on time, you see}. That is when these yummy mincemeat granola snack bars come really handy. A glass of milk or a shot of espresso with these hearty fruity granola snack bars saves my day very well. So that is the reason I keep on baking granola so often at home. Homemade granola has got no comparison at all. The stuff is awesome and so healthy that you wouldn’t even mind binging on them. While I was mixing the granola, I got reminded of few of the food gifts I got from my dear blogger friend Deeba, few days back. So in went some lovely chocolate chips and the rind from the kamquats to make them little indulgent and citrusy at the same time. Chocolate and orange marry so well! And it becomes all the more special when you get that as a gift. These snack bars are sweetened by the sweetness from orange juice which went into making the mincemeat and some honey. You may skip the chocolate chips completely, if you want them strictly healthy. But I guess, that much chocolate would no harm. In fact, your kids would love them, if you pack these in their lunch box.
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 cup whole almonds
- 1 1/2 cup mincemeat
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients together, stirring until granola is evenly coated. It will be moist.
- Press granola very firmly down in baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned and no longer moist to the touch.
- Allow to cool completely before turning out on a cutting board. You must allow the granola to cool completely or the bars will fall apart (a refrigerator can speed up the process).
- Cut granola bars into desired size. Wrap in parchment paper to make quick grab-and-go snacks. Store in an air-tight container to keep fresh.
