These dark chocolate chunk quinoa granola bars are so good! I love the crunch from the quinoa, and the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut get nice and roasty toasty in the oven and I mean, what better combination is there than dark chocolate and dried cherries?

Dark chocolate chunk quinoa granola bars are my new favorite thing. I want to eat these for breakfast, my mid morning snack, my afternoon snack, aaaand for my bed time snack.

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Seriously. They’re really addicting.

I love the crunch from the quinoa, and the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut get nice and roasty toasty in the oven and I mean, what better combination is there than dark chocolate and dried cherries? If that wasn’t enough to make your mouth water…the whole mixture gets smothered in a honey and coconut oil syrup and it’s just like you’ve just died and gone to sweet, sweet Heaven.

Like I said. These are seriously addicting.

Sooo funny story. I made these dark chocolate chunk quinoa granola bars yesterday after a really lazy Sunday. It was the ultimate lazy day, like I don’t think my beeehind moved off the couch unless it was to grab a snack, or to go to bed.

It. Was. Awesome.

Anyway, I hadn’t quite gotten back into the groove of things and was missing my lazy weekend already. Because of this, I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing…I was too busy daydreaming about doing nothing. Well, this recipe calls for 2/3 cup honey. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and as I was pouring my honey into my measuring cup, all I was thinking was “Wow! This is a heckofalot of honey…I’m about to use 2 Bears worth!”. I was getting closer and closer to the 2/3 mark on my measuring cup, and my second bear was almost gone….then it hit me.

I had long gone past the 2/3 mark and was quickly approaching the 1 and 2/3 mark! Yikes. That’s a lot of honey.

I obviously had too much honey, so I had to try to pour it back into the bear. It was sticky and messy and it got everywhere and my countertop is still suffering the consequences. Although, I think MY Honey Bear (Teddy) greatly appreciated licking the leftovers off the kitchen floor.

Long story short: PAY ATTENTION when measuring out honey, or you’ll have one sticky mess on your hands.

Everything else while making these dark chocolate chunk quinoa granola bars went without a hitch, other than the fact that while these were cooling, I somehow managed to munch on all the edges of the pan…I was going to cut them off anyway! 😉

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Now, butter an 8 x 12 in glass baking dish (or a similar size) and line it with parchment paper. The parchment paper will allow you to easily lift the bars out of the pan before you cut them!

Next, combine the oats, quinoa, almonds, and coconut together on an unlined baking pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring every 4 minutes to prevent burning.

Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Now, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Bring this to a boil (the mixture will start foaming). Once boiling, cook for 60 seconds, stirring constantly.

Pour the syrup over the toasted oatmeal mixture and then add in the dates and craisins and stir well.

Stir in the dark chocolate chunks, because the mixture is so warm, you will find some of the chocolate melting, but is that really a problem? 😉

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and gently, but firmly press the mixture evenly into the pan using your fingers. Make sure the granola is in there nice and tight to prevent crumbling while cutting these into bars later on. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the granola is a light golden brown color.

Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before removing from the pan and cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature!

I sent these to work with Trevor and as I’m writing this, I’m really regretting my decision to do so! My stomach is grumbling for those dark chocolate chunk quinoa granola bars. The toasty flavor, the crunchy quinoa, the chewy dates, the rich dark chocolate, and the honey sweet syrup that brings it all together. I know, like me, you’re going to want these for all your upcoming snacking opportunities! 😉