Almond Joy Cookie Bars

Now that Ross has a regular work schedule, I've been trying to keep healthy bars and muffins in the freezer for him to eat for breakfast. I found this great recipe on a blog last year, and I have made multiple batches. It's a definite winner and I can't believe it took me this long to share!

Almond Joy Cookie Bars
recipe adapted from Peas and Thank You

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs. coconut butter or coconut oil (optional)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. almond milk (may substitute coconut or regular milk as well)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, coconut, oats, almonds and chocolate chips. 

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, almond butter, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and milk.

Add wet to dry and stir until combined. If it seems to dry, add a splash more milk.

Eat as much batter as you want, because it's vegan and there are no raw eggs!

Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with non-stick cooking spray and press dough into bottom of pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and light brown around the edges. Allow to cool (if you can wait!) before cutting into bars. Makes 12-16 squares.

Homemade Nutri-Grain bars

One of the perks of being chair of the Developmental Committee is that I get to choose the snacks we have at our meetings! Humor me, please. If I'm going to put hours of work in to be one step ahead of all the committee members, I deserve some relaxing time to try a new recipe. And to be honest, I love being able to share a new recipe with a group of people. Ross an I can eat a batch of baked goods in about 3 days without thinking twice.

Today, I introduce to you Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars. I cannot claim this amazing recipe... I found it here. Don't let the name fool you though-- this is not exactly a health food. The recipe is very buttery. It did occur to me that I could replace the butter with peanut butter and make PBJ bars, but I have to follow a recipe perfectly once before I try to alter it.

The most exciting ingredient was the local jam I used! I bought a jar of strawberry-rhubarb preserves when we went to Jamesport with Ross' parents and this was the perfect recipe for it.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cold salted butter
1.5 cups flour
1.5 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup jam

Mix all ingredients (except jam) together, adding cold butter last and forming crumbs. Press a little over half the crumb mixture into a buttered 9×13 pan and spread jam on top.  Leave a half inch “no jam” edge so that it doesn’t run out the sides!  Top with remaining crumbs and press lightly into jam.  Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.  Cool and cut into 16 bars.

Next time, I may sprinkle some crushed walnuts on top for crunch. So easy to make and so delicious!

Smitten with chocolate and cherries

I'm on a quest to make a yummy, healthy, homemade granola bar. There are lots of recipes out there. Some require baking, some are no-bake bars. Some are easy, some are complicated. Some are healthy, some are not. Some are super-healthy but turn crumble into granola when you try to cut them into bars. So. Given the wide range of recipes, ingredients, and techniques (who knew granola bars caused so much controversy?!), I thought I'd try an easy recipe from a reputable source. The ingredients reminded me of a cookie recipe, so it's not the healthiest. But I knew they'd be easy to make in bar form.

Without further ado, I present Chocolate, Walnut, Cherry Granola Bars. I adapted this recipe from the author of Smitten Kitchen. She adapted her recipe from King Arthur flour.

(makes 16 bars)

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8″ x 12″ x 2″ pan.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter, peanut butter, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.

Bake the bars for 30 to 35 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

1. Dry ingredients

2. Wet ingredients

3. Kitchen Aid stand mixer!

4. Letting the mixer do the work

5. Plop

6. Press

7. Cut and eat!

These are yummy- even Ross agrees! However, they're very cookie-like. 6 Tbs. is a lot of butter! And do you really need honey AND sugar? But I didn't want to mess with proportions too much lest I end up with the aforementioned granola instead of bars. But you can count on hearing about these again in a month or so when I try to make this recipe a little healthier. (Well, you'll hear about it if it's successful and edible). For now, enjoy! And let me know if you have a good granola bar recipe of your own. I'll be making granola bars a lot in the next few months until I find the perfect recipe... bar fight!