I was asked to speak at a Breast Cancer Support Group Tuesday evening. The meeting was right around supper time. I didn’t want to be talking about food and not have anything for the members to snack on. I always get told by my clients that I make them hungry talking about food. I thought these would be the perfect treat to hold the ladies over until they made it home from our meeting. This recipe was adapted by Eating Well’s Almond Honey Power Bar.
This recipe yields 16 bars
Ingredients:
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon milled flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 cup unsweetened 100% whole-grain puffed cereal (such as kashi or arrowhead mills kamut)
- 1/3 cup chopped dried dark cherries
- 1/3 cup chopped dried blueberries
- 1/3 cup chopped raisins
- 1/4 cup creamy nut butter ( I used peanut butter)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar not packed or unprocessed sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon high quality vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13 by 9-inch-square pan with parchment paper.
- Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are aromatic, stirring the nut combination halfway through, about 10 minutes.
4. Once the toasted nut and seed mixture is cool to the touch place in large bowl. Add dried fruit, milled flaxseed, and puff cereal mix together.
5. Combine nut butter, sugar, honey, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in vanilla.
6. Add butter mixture over the nut mix.
7. Pour batter to the prepared pan with the parchment.
8. Use cooking sprayed spatula to press bars down into the dish.
9. My bars did not go all the way to the end of the dish. There was about an inch to an inch and a half empty from the edge (but not a problem). Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes; cut into 16 bars.
