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Here we are again – the beginning of the week. Monday creeps up so quickly!
It was a splendid sunny Fall weekend here in NYC. I cheerfully kicked my way through colorful leaves, picked up a pumpkin and some gorgeous mums, and had my first cup of hot cider. How good is life?? How good is Fall?!
I’m grateful for these crisp days that clearly speak the season at hand, yet are bright and inviting enough for a long walks and reading in the park. I’m not ready for the grey cold Blanket that Winter will eventually drape over the city. Please, NO!
I hope you enjoyed some Fall this weekend too; it really is a lovely time of year to get outside.
Now, about these breakfast/ snack bars.
Do you buy those wonderfully marketed, shiny foiled Luna, Cliff, or whatever – other – cleverly – deemed – “you can do it” – bars? I’ve tried a few variations – really wanting to like them as they seem like a great option for a grab and go snack – but I was always left with an odd after taste, or just total flavor dissatisfaction. Also, with prices ranging from 2-4 bucks a bar – they get pricey.
That’s were these babies come in!
Sticky Oat – and – Pine – Nut Bars have the same grab and go abilities, no mystery aftertaste, and keep in your fridge for a week. I found myself looking forward to one (or two) and an apple as an afternoon snack almost everyday since making them.
These sticky treats are really incredible in the taste department; they have that je ne sais quoi quality that makes them sure to be repeatedly made.
The white chocolate is just sweet enough – and just the right amount – to make this indulgence acceptable as an anytime day (or night) snack. The mixture of oats and pine nuts works to keep you full and has a delightful crunch to the overall product. Honey, butter, sugar, and black pepper holds everything together and the pepper gives the sweet bars a spicy little kick.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to grab one of these and a coffee before work.
Happy Monday, Loves. I hope you find beauty and love in everything you do today.
Sticky – Oat – and – Pine – Nut Bars – Food and Wine
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats, preferably thick-cut
- 1 1/2 cups pine nuts (8 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the bottom and two sides with parchment paper.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the honey and sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until an amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oats, pine nuts, pepper and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the pine nuts just begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for about 20 minutes, until bubbling and browned around the edges. Let the bars cool completely in the pan.
- Run the tip of a knife around the edge of the pan and lift the square from the pan. Cut the square in half, then cut each half into 6 bars. Discard the parchment paper.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate at high power at 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Stir in the oil and let cool slightly. Dip the bottom half of each oat bar into the white chocolate and set the bars on the baking sheet. Refrigerate just until the white chocolate is set. If the chocolate looks thin, dip the bars a second time.
I LOVE homemade granola bars… these ones look tasty! I am going to make these soon. yummm
I hope you do, Carrie! They are so so tasty, and pretty guilt free in the grand spectrum of things.
Lovely recipe!
Thank you, Tine!
Sticky? With oats? And dipped in white chocolate??? Oh, boy, consider me a fan of these gems! YUM!
They are what other granola bars dream of becoming when they grow up!
Awesome, I will certainly try this, love oats.
“The bars can be refrigerated for 1 week or kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.” – I doubt it, be lucky if they last a day:)
They lasted exactly 3 days in my pad, and that’s with only me eating them! I think a family could polish these off on one day easy.
Mmm… these look delicious!
Thanks, Rach! I loved them.
I’ve never bought those ‘you are a champion and you’re pretty and you like things that like you’ bars, but I’ve been given some in my grab bags at races, and I know what you mean about the funny taste/after-taste. They’re just kind of weird – is that what natural tastes like?:)
It’ll be the day when I have a spare cup point five of pine nuts. I can’t wait for that day!
I’m going to experiment with using other nuts in these; i’ll let you know if any of them are taste scores.
I’ve seen a lot of snack bars but your photos of these bars totally made my mouth water, endlessly! Oh I wish I have even one piece or even crumbs of that right now…..I’ve never made bars before but I’m seriously considering to make one. Only problem is who would stop me from eating all when I bake it…
I wish I could reach through the screen and share some with you, Nami! You should give these a try; the recipe only produces 12 bars, and they last up to 7 days in the fridge – perfect for snacks!
Oh my God… I want. They remind me a little of an English Flapjack but with more “Mmm mmm mmm”. They look so sticky and delicious, and I’m loving the chocolate addition. On that subject, I don’t think I ever saw Lindt white chocolate before. White with Coconut, possibly, but never plain white. I’ll have to look some more!
I just checked out those English flapjacks – very intriguing! I actually got that Lindt white chocolate bar on a flight back from Australia, so I’m not much help on where in the world to find them, but I hope you do 🙂
Ah! You had me at the Lindt white chocolate pieces. Yum!
It took so much self control not to eat the pieces just as they were!
Oh! These bars sure look delicious…especially with white chocolate!
Hope you are having a great week Ashley 🙂
Thank you, Juliana! They white chocolate really worked well with the punch of black pepper to keep things sweet.
My daughter literally eats a granola bar/breakfast bar every day. She would love these!
I bet she would too 🙂
well, this definitely would make the start of my week better!
Worked for me 🙂
These are beautiful! I LOVE pine nuts but have not included them in a dessert yet. Glad to see they are the star here! And that white chocolate….just puts this over the top for me! Wonderful photos, too! : )
Thank you! All the flavors blended really wonderfully, and the white chocolate was the perfect amount to make them indulgent but not over the top sweet.
These are amazing! I am a HUGE fan of pine nuts and you described the taste of those other bars PERFECTLY! I’m always left with that funny taste in my mouth, too. These are brilliant….seriously brilliant!
Thank you, Ann 🙂 If you love pine nuts, I think you’d love these!
Mmm these look so good!
I don’t like bought snack bars but homemade ones like these are always delicious 🙂
I wish I had a decent kitchen so that I could make these, they’d make such great snacks to take for in between lectures!
Sophie, how small is your kitchen? Mine is about 3 feet by 4 feet – serious. So if you have a stove/oven, you should have no issue whipping these up.
These look scrumptious. I love the addition of white chocolate – it’s somewhat different from the usual homemade granola recipes!
I agree; I loved the balance in this recipe of decadence and hearth.
First cup of hot cider– thanks for reminding me! I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to have one.
As always, thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Ingrid, get yourself a cup of cider asap! It’s a Fall essential 🙂
Make some, Ray; you’ll have a whole tray of 12 bars 🙂
These sound wonderful. I love pine nuts but don’t buy them very often because of the expense. I think these bars would be totally worth it!
Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? I’m pretty sure I got a large-r bag for around 4 bucks! And yes – totally worth using them in this recipe 🙂
Damn! I just finished munching the pine nuts! I have to buy some more and make these. These sound so good!
Totally grab another bag and whip these up 🙂 They’re so so tasty!
Oh wow, these bars look incredible. I would substitute the white for dark chocolate though.
🙂 Mandy
OOh- that sounds divine!