Date, Nut, and Dark Chocolate Granola Bars

I was craving a little chocolate this week, so I added some dark chocolate chips to my granola mixture.  These are packed with nuts, sweetened with a date syrup, and loaded with protein.

Ingredients:

4 ounces large pitted dates

¼ cup pepitas

½ cup dark chocolate coated almonds

½ cup coconut dusted almonds

½ cup cashews

1 tablespoon flax seeds

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all bran cereal

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

½ cup light peanut butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8×8 dish with nonstick spray.
2. Add dates and 1 cup boiling water to a bowl.  Allow dates to soak and soften for at least 10 minutes.
3. Mix nuts, cereal, protein powder, and chocolate chips in a large bowl.
4. Transfer date mixture to a food processor.  Pulse to chop dates.
5. Add vanilla extract and peanut butter.  Pulse to mix.
6. Stir the date mixture into the nuts scraping down the edges of the bowl.
7. Transfer to baking dish.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes until granola is beginning to darken.
9. Let cool before slicing into squares or bars.
10. Store in an air-tight container.
11. Enjoy for a snack when you need a quick pick me up.