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Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars

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Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars are one of my favorite snacks. They’re a fantastic on-the-go-breakfast, a delightful mid-day treat, or a fun midnight snack! Whenever you eat them, you’ll be wowed by the delicious explosion of flavor!Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars on wrinkled parchment paper

There are granola bars, and there are Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars.

What’s in Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars?

When you combine the hazelnut meal with a bit of citrus, oats and chocolate — you won’t believe how amazing it is!

The recipe also includes:

  • cacao nibs (Cacao nibs are tiny bits of fermented, dried, roasted and crushed cacao beans. That’s all they are — no sugar, no milk, just the bean.)
  • butter
  • brown sugar
  • honey
  • vanilla

dry ingredients in a wooden spoon for hazelnut granola bars

Hazelnuts

Their rich, buttery flavor is matched by no other nut. And when you cook with them, your house will be filled with their incredibly delicious and alluring aroma.

They smell so good, you might just bring people in off the streets.

Sometimes I want the crunch of whole or chopped hazelnuts, sometimes I  just want to add the hazelnut flavor with finely ground nuts, and of course sometimes I want both.

And that’s exactly what going on in this recipe.

Bob’s Red Mill Hazelnut Meal/Flour has become a staple in my pantry, and it’s a key ingredient in these hazelnut granola bars.

Hazelnut meal on cutting board

What is Hazelnut Meal?

Hazelnut meal/flour is ground, whole raw hazelnuts. It’s paleo and gluten-free-friendly.

I’ve been using it in all sorts of hazelnut recipes — everything from these mouthwatering granola bars, to pie crusts, waffles and even as a crust for chicken.

Not only will it bring its wonderful flavors to hazelnut granola bars, but it can also be a fantastic gluten-free alternative to other flours.

hazelnut granola bar mixture spread on sheet pan

As I mentioned, there are also whole hazelnuts in my recipe for Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars.

How to Peel Hazelnuts

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F, and place the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
  • When the oven is preheated, roast them until they are very aromatic and the skins are cracking, about 5 minutes.
  • Let them cool for at least 5 minutes, and then they can be rubbed together in your hands, or in a dish towel, and the skins should flake away. (Some tiny bits of skin will remain, and that’s okay.)

Baked Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola on baking sheet

Can you make hazelnut granola cereal instead of bars?

Absolutely!

After removing the granola from the oven, instead of cutting it into bars, crumble it with your hands, and omit the chocolate drizzling.

toop view of a bowl of chocolate hazelnut granola

Recipe Tips for Hazelnut Granola Bars with Chocolate and Orange

  • Store the granola bars in a tightly sealed container, with parchment or wax paper between layers. If stored this way in a cool dark place, they should keep their crispness for at least four days.
  • If you are gluten-free, make sure the oats you use say they’re gluten-free — otherwise, they could be cross contaminated.

I hope you love these Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars as much as I do!

Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars in stacks on parchment

More recipes with hazelnuts:

Roasted Hazelnut-Orange & Chocolate Granola Bar Recipe

Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Granola Bars

Valentina K. Wein
These granola bars are fantastic for an on-the-go-breakfast, a delightful mid-day treat, or a fun midnight snack! Whenever you eat them, you'll be wowed by the delicious explosion of flavor!
4 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Breakfast, Snacks
Cuisine American
Servings 27
Calories 243 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup hazelnuts
  • 2 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
  • 1½ cups Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut Meal/Flour
  • 1 cup cacao nibs (see notes)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1½ tablespoons orange zest (from about 2 Naval oranges)
  • ½ cup fresh orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups semisweet chocolate, finely chopped and then melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F, and place the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
  • When the oven is preheated, roast them until they are very aromatic and the skins are cracking, about 5 minutes. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes, and then they can be rubbed together in your hands, or in a dish towel, and the skins should flake away. (Some tiny bits of skin will remain, and that's okay.) Roughly chop the nuts and set them aside.
  • Turn the oven down to 350°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the oats, hazelnut meal, cocoa nibs, the chopped hazelnuts and salt. Mix and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, sugar, orange zest and juice, honey, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix it until everything is evenly blended -- it will resemble cookie dough.
  • Use a spatula to help you "pour" the granola mixture onto one of the parchment-lined baking sheets. Use a flat-bottomed metal spatula to flatten out the mixture. It should be about ½-inch thick and cover the sheet. Go around the edges with the metal spatula to make them straight.
  • Roast in the preheated 350°F oven until it's a dark golden brown, about 30 minutes.
  • Let it cool on the baking sheet until it's hard, but still soft enough to cut through without it cracking, about 10 minutes.
  • With a Chef's knife, cut the cooked granola into about 27 evenly sized, rectangular bars.
  • Place the cut granola bars on the second, parchment-lined baking sheet, with 1 to 2 inches between them. Now use a small spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over the bars. (This will work the best if your chocolate has just been melted and is still very warm.)
  • Place the chocolate-drizzled bars on a large plate or platter to let the chocolate cool and harden completely. This might take an hour or so at room temperature. To speed it up, you can place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
Keywords great on-the-go snack, gluten-free snacks
Have you tried this recipe?I'd love to see it on Instagram! Tag me at @cookingontheweekends or leave a comment & rating below.

Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.


This is not a sponsored post. Bob’s Red Mill sent me hazelnut meal for recipe testing. And as always, I only cook with products I love and all opinions are my own.

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Comments

    • valentina says

      Vicki, I’ve been wanted to try it with fish, too. I have a chicken recipe coming later in the week that uses it as a “crust.” Fish will be next. 🙂

      Reply

  11. Margot C says

    I’ve been very into nut flour lately. It’s great stuff for making tart shells. I haven’t had (or even seen) hazelnut before though.

    Reply

  13. Michelle L. says

    To be honest, I have never tried cooking or baking with hazelnuts, although I do love making hazelnut crescent rolls for breakfast.

    Reply

  21. jen peak says

    I love hazelnuts for crusts, hazelnut spread on anything, and Hazelwood oil for skin care (esp eczema)

    Reply

    • valentina says

      I didn’t know about their use in skin care. Good to know! I’ve used avocados in my hair, so why not? 😉

      Reply

  25. Kelsey says

    My most common use is eating nutella right off the spoon…. But fave is probably in granola bars with quinoa and brown butter.

    Reply

  26. Alison Png says

    These look amazing! I never thought of using hazelnut flour, but that’s genius. Also the little touch of orange juice and zest is a nice touch to balance out all those earthy flavors.

    Reply

  29. Marilyn B. says

    Hi, there,
    Your recipe looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it! I mainly use nut flours to make gluten-free pie crusts my daughter who is following “The 100 Diet.” I fill them with a tofu cheesecakes filling. I think I can even adapt your recipe flavors to my basic recipe (which is lemon-based) and change it up a bit. Thanks for this terrific giveaway. Hope I win!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Thanks so much Marilyn. Yes, it’s perfect for GF pie crusts, and lemon is so delicious with hazelnuts!

      Reply

    • valentina says

      Brandy, try these — I don’t think you’ll fail. Email me with questions if you have them while you’re cooking. Really.

      Reply

  45. Melankalia says

    I’ve actually never tried the hazelnut meal, but I’m thinking it would be fabulous in my favorite brownie recipe!

    Reply

  51. Amanda J says

    I actually have not tried any recipes with hazelnuts before but I would love to try some granola or energy bars with them.

    Reply

  56. Rhonda Cunningham-Phillips says

    I have always loved hazelnuts! I would probably make a chocolate pie, with hazelnuts in the crust, and sprinkled on the top.

    Reply

  60. Dana @ Foodie Goes Healthy says

    Valentina- I would love to make these. Do you have any dairy-free suggestion instead of the butter? Also, I really want to try this meal on fish. I hope I win the giveaway so I can try this product. Thanks for the great recipe.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Dana! You can try coconut oil. Don’t melt it, just “cream” it with the sugar as you would the butter. Let me know how it turns out. Thank YOU for checking out the recipe. 🙂

      Reply

  63. ashley cossette says

    My favorite use for hazelnuts is to put them in cookies! so many people are obsessed with the spreads, adn not enough focus on the nut itself! 🙂

    Reply

  67. Michael says

    Made these this afternoon. The “batter” was delicious, so I expect the bars to be, too (they’re currently finishing cooking).

    The recipe isn’t actually clear about what to do with the chopped nuts. I assume they’re lumped in with the “dry ingredients” step, but it isn’t 100% clear.

    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Michael, so happy you tried this recipe. Yes, you are correct, the chopped nut get mixed into the other dry ingredients – the oats, etc. Thanks for pointing that out — I really appreciate it, and I edited that step so it’s clear now. Hope they turned out well! 🙂

      Reply

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