I have recently developed a rather unhealthy attachment. Exceedingly smooth and eminently tasty but ultimately, pretty darn bad for me. Sound familiar?

Biscoff cookie butter is an irresistible, spreadable version of the Speculaas spiced caramelized short crust biscuit – the individually wrapped offering usually served alongside your refreshment at the local hair salon. With the texture of peanut butter, it can be consumed in a similar way – on toast, with apple slices, or in my case eaten directly from the jar with a spoon. And you there - don’t pretend you don’t do the same.

Just like its more nutritious peanut counterpart, it is cropping up in hundreds of recipes across the food blogosphere. From cheesecake to ice cream, to stuffed brownies (ooh, hello) and mousse, there’s no point trying to pretend this isn’t a cheat day treat.

However, in a recent bid to clean up my act and rid myself of my current Biscoff supply, I decided to try out some granola bars, combining the addictive spread with some nutritious nuts and seeds. And pretty darn tasty it turned out to be.*

*Warning: this recipe only uses about half a jar. That leaves you with the remaining half and a spoon. Good luck.

Biscoff granola bars

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
¾ cup Biscoff spread
¼ cup maple syrup
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Line an 11x9 (or thereabouts) baking tin with baking paper. Lightly grease the sides. Preheat the oven to 300F.

In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, coconut, almonds and seeds and stir. Then in a small saucepan, melt the butter, Biscoff and maple syrup together over a low heat, until melted. Add in the vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Transfer to the baking tin and press down firmly so that the mix is good and even. Bake for around 25 – 30 minutes and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Another option with this recipe to make a lovely, decadent granola. I did half and half with mine – I baked as per the above recipe for 25 minutes, then cut out half the mixture and broke it into small pieces onto a separate baking sheet. This went back into the oven for another ten minutes to crisp up.