As a child I lived on granola bars as my afternoon snack.
Well, not really. In fact, both my mom and I were pretty creative with snacking ideas. (BTW, ummm….graham cracker sandwiches with either canned vanilla or chocolate frosting is AMAZING – as is peanut butter in a tortilla roll-up, microwaved just enough).
In any case, I’ve always loved granola – bars or cereal – in any form.
I was rather spoiled – while my sister noshed on Golden Grahams and Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast, my choice was Mom’s homemade granola and yogurt.
Aahhh…I was a strange child.

Anyway, I wanted to create a chewy granola bar for my vegan and gluten-free friends. I wanted it to be sweet, but not too sweet. With raisins, dried cherries, walnuts, oats, almond butter, and dark chocolate chunks, and a dash of cinnamon, this Chocolate Almond Granola Chews recipe has it all!

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Chocolate Almond Granola Chews

1 1/2 cups all natural almond butter
1 cup vegan cream cheese
2 Tbs. vegan butter
2 1/2 cups gluten-free oats
2 cups walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups dried cherries
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Combine the almond butter, cream cheese, and vegan butter in a medium pot and melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Once melted and NOT BURNED, stir in the oats, walnuts, raisins, and cherries. Mix well. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and salt.
Remove from heat.
Stir in the dark chocolate chunks.

Transfer to a a parchment lined baking pan and smooth with a spatula.

Refrigerate 4-6 hours before slicing and serving.

Chewy, sweet, savory, and SO delicious!!