Recipe yields 3 dozen bars
It’s been too hot for the oven in Pittsburgh these last few weeks in July. Yet I have not turned on the air conditioning in the house. In turn, I know I have been taking it easy with the baking. These bars are super easy. Plus soft but crunchy with a blend of two different nut/seed butters. Plus an extra bonus of a wide variety of seeds and nuts to pack in the protein.
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cup of Cheerios (I used the pumpkin flavored ones)
2 3/4 cup of Brown rice cereal
1/4 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup of peptia seeds
1/4 cup milled flaxseed
1/4 cup of quinoa, uncooked
1/4 cup dried mixed fruit ( I used a variety of blueberry and cranberry)
1 1/2 cup of local honey
1 Cup Smooth Cashew Butter
1 Cup Smooth Sunflower Butter
- Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper, make sure to place the parchment over the sides to make for easy removal of the bars. Set aside.
- Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In the meantime mix together the nut/seed butters and honey in a medium microwavable safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second and stir. Continue to microwave and stir in 30 second intervals until smooth and creamy. The mixture should appear melted.
- Add the melted nut butter mixture over top of the dry ingredients and incorporate thoroughly with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared half sheet pan. A nice trick to this is to spray your spatula with nonstick cooking spray. Another pearl of wisdom, you can also use wax paper to push the bars down into the pan to make the even.
- Place bars in the refrigerator covered and allow the bars to set overnight.
- After the bars have hardened overnight in the refrigerator cut in to three dozen bars. For optimal results and extended shelflife, store the bars in an airtight container in refrigerator.