Espresso Almond Energy Granola Bars

Instead of energy balls I have been in the mood for homemade granola bars with whole nuts lately.  These espresso almond protein balls are sure to fill you up and energize you any time of day.

Ingredients:

1 cup All Bran cereal

1 cup old fashioned oats

½ cup almonds

½ cup cocoa almonds

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

2 tablespoons flax seeds

1 tablespoon espresso powder

2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

¼ cup pure/light maple syrup

¼ cup hazelnut spread (I used Pongo’s Plus Protein Hazelnut Spread)

2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Add honey, hazelnut, and maple syrup to a small saucepan.  Heat on medium low heat stirring occasionally until warm.
2. Add cereal, oats, almonds, flax seeds, chocolate chips, espresso powder, and protein powder to a large bowl.  Mix to combine.
3. Spray an 8×8 pan with nonstick spray.
4. Pour the hazelnut mixture over the almond mixture.  Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and moisten everything.
5. Transfer to the 8×8 dish pressing down.
6. Refrigerate to set. Slice into squares or rectangle bars.
7. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until these bars disappear.