Hello babes! For any of you with a hankering to make a cute and wholesome goodie for Valentine’s Day I’ve got something extra special for you today… my Valentine’s Day Granola Pops!
Granola pops may be my best invention yet because they are a no bake treat that are fun to make and perfect to pack in school lunches or gift to friends on Valentine’s Day!! With all of the healthy granola bar options out there, this one is anything but boring or ordinary..!
Mom Hack FTW
As much as I love baking homemade goodies at home, nothing excited me more than a good ol’ mom hack. It just feels like the shortcut that keeps on giving..! For this recipe, I created a little hack for getting the granola bars in little hands faster, have I sold you on it yet?
Here is the hack, I am not actually making anything (sorry Betty Crocker). What we are basically doing is a little gluing and cutting of snacks to make new snacks… sounds legit right 😄. Instead of making granola bars, let’s grab some store bought granola bars, “glue “them together with chocolate and then cut them into heart shapes, then decorate them with more chocolate and sprinkles.
Supplies
*10 Granola Bars
1 cup White Chocolate Chips
1 tbsp. Refined Coconut Oil
Popsicle sticks *I don’t recommend using cake pop sticks as pictured because they are a bit thick and break the bars apart easily… use old fashioned popsicle sticks
Sprinkles
Heart shaped cookie cutters
Ribbon (optional)
Also optional: treat bags for gifting as a Valentine’s Day treat!
*(1 box of 8 bars will make approx. 5 bars, here is where a Costco run may come in handy for a big batch!)
Line the Bars
In a pan or cookie sheet spayed with cooking spray or buttered, line the granola bars (unwrapped) up in a single line. Then take the chocolate chips and coconut oil melt in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then melt another 30 seconds and stir until all of the chips are melted. Dip the long side of the bar into the melted chocolate and press into the other bar.
Make Heart Cut Outs
Spray cookie cutter with cooking spray and use the cutter to press into the “glued” together granola bars. They will still be soft. If they fall apart a bit gently press the shape back together. From here pop the dish or sheet of granola hearts into the freezer for just a minute to set the chocolate.
Popsicle Sticks
At this point the hearts should be hardened together but soft enough to insert the popsicale stick. If the granola hearts are too firm let them come to room temp before inserting the popsicle sticks.
To insert the popsicle sticks, dip one end into the melted chocolate then pop into the bottom of the heart. At this point you can decorate! I used a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the pops along with some Valentines Day heart sprinkles. Place them back in the freezer for a minute to set.
Ready to Snack!
Congrats! The cute and wholesome goodie is ready to enjoy or place in goodie bags for special friends on Valentine’s Day. The great thing about using store bough granola bars is that they can be found to be made without allergies such as nuts and gluten for our allergy sensitive friends.
Options
Can you use your own granola bar recipe?! You totally can. I’ll leave that up to you and won’t hold it against you ever 🥰🤗.
Let the Kids Help
I plan to make a big batch with the rest of the granola bars I bought for this fun project. The kids will have the best time “gluing” together the granola bars and cutting out the hearts. I think what I love the most is that I didn’t even have to turn on the oven or bust out the dry ingredients for this one! And if we are keeping track, my kitchen didn’t get too messy either 😉.
Will you be making my Valentine’s Day Granola Pops this year?! I’d love to see what you create so tag me on Instagram @thrillofhome with your fun creations!!
Sending lots of love your way…!
X o X o ,
