Category Archives: Bars

Heath No Bake Granola Bars

We had a lunch and learn today and I always try to make a special treat for my co-workers. I made these bars in a pinch at 9:45 last night. This has to be the easiest, quickest bar I have ever made! The honey flavor really shines through!

This recipe yields 18 bars

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup unpack brown sugar
1 cup of quick oats
1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup of crispy rice cereal preferably brown rice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 TB chopped Heath Candy bar

Directions:

1. Line 8x 8″ glass or metal dish with foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray to coat the foil to prevent sticking.

2. Place on medium heat a 2 quart sauce pan, add canola oil, honey, and brown sugar.

3. Heat liquid mixture until bubbles appear then reduce heat to low and cook for 2 additional minutes.

3. While the liquid mixture cooks combine dry ingredients ( except for Heath Chips) into a large bowl.

4. Remove liquid mixture from heat and add vanilla. Stir honey mixture into dry ingredients using spatula.

5. Press the batter into the pan evenly.

6. Sprinkle the Heath chips evenly on top of the bars and press the chips down with a spatula.

7. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight. Remove from the pan. Cut into 18 bars.

Enjoy!

Chewy Whole Grain Protein Bars

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.

enjoy!

Perfectly Portioned Brownies

My sisters in law for Christmas bought me the pampered chef individual brownie pan which I love….love!! Of course I had to try brownies first but I have Apple Sreusel Crescent Bites in the oven now for breakfast.

This recipe yields 9 brownies (even though the pan is made to yield 12)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil or (1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce)
1 tsp Mexican Vanilla Extract
1 cup sugar ( or 1/2 cup Splenda for baking and half cup sugar)
2 eggs or <(1/2 cup egg substitute) or (4 egg whites)>
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa (high quality brand you know my favorite )
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cooking spray mini brownie pan.

2. Take a medium bowl and add oil ( and applesauce if using), vanilla, eggs, and sugar whisk until mixed well.

3. Add salt, baking powder, cocoa and flour and mix until combined.

4. Use scant 1/2 cup or 2 oz scoop to place batter into pan.

Add water in leftover empty vessels to prevent scorching.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes (test using toothpick method).

Let rest in pan for 5 minutes and move brownies to wire rack for cooling.

Enjoy!

Hazelnut Spread No Bake Bars

We had a quarterly meeting today at work. To help improve attendance I try and made a home baked treat. During my research for the perfect mid morning treat, I came across a no bake recipe using hazelnut spread which intrigued me. However I was appalled by the recipes I found adding up two two cups of sugar into the recipe! Yikes! In preparation for this snack I wanted to decease some of the less favorable calories by removing the butter (saturated fat) and significantly decreasing the added sugar to make the bars a little more diet friendly.

Recipe yields 24 bars

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup Nutella or the New the Jif Hazelnut Spread (or any other Hazelnut Spread)
1/2 cup skim milk
3 1/8 cup of old fashion oats (not the quick oats)
1/2 TB of Mexican vanilla extract (however if you do not have this kind on hand I recommend purchasing it!! However in the meantime you could double the traditional McCormick Vanilla extract for this recipe)
Canola oil cooking spray

Directions:

Line an 8 by 8 inch glass dish or pan with foil. Spray the foil with cooking oil spray and set a side.

Add hazelnut spread, sugar, and milk into heavy sauce pan and bring to a simmer for approximately a minute to dissolve the sugar granules.

Add vanilla and oats to the sauce pan.

Mix to fully incorporate and then pour into the lined pan.

Spread the batter evenly and freeze for at least 2 hours in the freezer.

Remove the bars from the freezer and lift the bars out using the foil to make for easy cutting. Store in a cold dry place for optimal flavor and shelve life .

Enjoy! WW Plus 4 points per serving.

Nutrition Facts Hazelnut Bar
24 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories		139.4

Total Fat		5.5 g

	Saturated Fat	1.3 g

	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.3 g

	Monounsaturated Fat	0.3 g

Cholesterol		1.8 mg

Sodium		15.5 mg

Potassium		8.3 mg

Total Carbohydrate		20.2 g

	Dietary Fiber	1.4 g

	Sugars	13.1 g

Protein		2.1 g


Vitamin A	0.2 %

Vitamin B-12	0.3 %

Vitamin B-6	0.1 %

Vitamin C	0.1 %

Vitamin D	0.5 %

Vitamin E	0.0 %

Calcium	2.6 %

Copper	0.0 %

Folate	0.1 %

Iron	4.6 %

Magnesium	0.1 %

Manganese	0.0 %

Niacin	0.0 %

Pantothenic Acid	0.2 %

Phosphorus	0.5 %

Riboflavin	0.4 %

Selenium	0.2 %

Thiamin	0.1 %

Zinc	0.1 %

Apple Spice Oat Bars

We have an intern leaving us tomorrow and as a farewell I wanted to bake her a special treat. I used my Grandpa Harper’s Dehydrated Apples and my apple butter recipe. This recipe bakes really nice and is full of flavor!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup chopped dehydrated apples
1/3 cup chopped raisins
1 cup slivered almonds toasted
2 1/2 cup old fashion oats (not quick oats)
1 tsp ground Vietnamese cinnamon
1/2 tsp Mexican vanilla
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup apple butter
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

This recipe yields: 12 bars

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 by 8 inch Pyrex glass dish with foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Mix wet ingredients in a bowl ( apple butter, honey, agave nectar, vanilla, peanut butter) and cinnamon.

Mix until incorporated.

Add oats to liquid batter and fold.

Now add almond slivers, apples, and raisins.

Fold in almonds, raisins, and apples mix by hand with spatula until all ingredients are spread evenly throughout.

Pour batter into foil lined and cooking sprayed 8 by 8 inch baking dish. Pat down the batter to make uniform and level so that the bars will bake evenly.

Bake on 325 degrees for 25 minutes and place in freezer to cool for at least one hour.

Remove the bars using the foil (which makes this job a lot easier than trying to cut in the pan.

Cut into 12 bars and enjoy!

Pumpkin Granola Bars

If you didn’t know it by now, I’m sure you would have eventually guessed…I love pumpkin! My husband does too! I even made pumpkin Alfredo tonight for supper!

Tomorrow at work we are having a lunch and learn (without the lunch) unfortunately everyone is having to cut back. The plus side packing a lunch is less expensive and can be healthier! That said I decided to make us a fall snack for during the webinar. I cannot think of anything better than this wholesome snack.

Ingredients:
4 cups of old fashion oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 roasted pumpkin seeds (chopped)
1 TB of high quality pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
3/4 cup purée pumpkin (I used fresh)
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 honey
1 TB milled flaxseed
1/2 TB of pure vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 9 by 13 pan with foil & spray with cooking spray.

Place all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Whisk dry ingredients together until incorporated.

In a separate large bowl add the wet ingredients together.

Whisk until mixed well.

Add dry mix to wet batter. Fold in the dry ingredients until there are no signs of dry crumbs.

Add the batter into the foil lined baking dish.

Press the batter evenly into the pan using a spatula.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Let cool completely. Use excess foil as handles to help you remove the granola from pan.

Cut into 12 bars

Rich Brownies (dietitian not recommended)

Sometimes you have to spurge and go all out. I have been looking for a good fudgy brownie that’s not out of the box and without all the extras. I think I found a winner.

Ingredients:

3 oz 70% dark chocolate
3 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup AP flour
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp vanilla pure extract
3 eggs (farmer fresh or egg-lands best)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Foil line an 8 by 8 pan, make sure to leave extra over sides to serve as a handles. Spray pan with cooking spray.

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, instant coffee , and salt in a medium bowl. Set a side.

2. Place butter, & chocolates in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 15 second intervals using spatula to scrape down sides in bowl each time. Make sure not to burn the chocolate.

If you rather you could use a double boiler or glass bowl over simmering water bath (I’ll leave that up to you). I prefer microwave less pans to clean.

Once the chocolate mix is melted smoothly add in vanilla & sugar.

Add one egg at a time.

Whisk after each egg addition.

Add flour blend to chocolate batter.

Mix with whisk until fully incorporated.

Pour batter into pan and spread evenly with spatula.

Bake in center of the oven for 35 minutes. You want a soft crumb on your toothpick when testing the brownie to see if finished.

Let sit in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from baking dish and let cool on wire rack.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Whole Wheat Shortbread

Strawberry Rhubarb Shortbread

My grandpa gave me fresh rhubarb from his garden this past weekend. I couldn’t wait to use it. I love baking with rhubarb!! I have made rhubarb muffins, rhubarb cupcakes, rhubarb bars, rhubarb pancakes but never have I made shortbread using rhubarb. We had a very special birthday in the office today so I researched for a new rhubarb recipe to try and when I came across this recipe for Rhubarb Shortbread I had to give it a whirl. This recipe was adapted from a recipe on PBS’s website http://www.pbs.org/food/kitchen-vignettes/rhubarb-cardamom-shortbread-bars/. The original recipe called for a few different ingredients so I switched it up slightly since I didn’t have spelt flour , cane sugar, nor did I have red wine on hand.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 Cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 Cup AP Flour

A pinch of salt

1 Teaspoon of baking soda

2 Teaspoon of ground cardamom

2 sticks of butter (unsalted and brought to room temperature)

1 Cup of Sugar

2 Egg Yolks

Baking dish needed: 10 inch tart pan

Rhubarb Compote:

2 Cups of Rhubarb Chopped

1/2 cup Strawberries chopped

1/3 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Water

1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla

Directions for the Dough:

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter until fluffy.

3. Add the eggs yolks one at a time and sugar and mix well.

4. Add the dry ingredients ingredients and combine the two until a soft dough has formed.

5. Form the dough into two balls, make sure to form one larger than the other.

Wrap the dough in plastic cling wrap and place in freezer for 30 to 45 minutes. them for a minimum of 30 minutes.

6. For the Compote: Place a 2 quart sauce pan on low heat, add water, sugar, strawberries, rhubarb into the pan. Make sure to stir often. Add the sauce to come to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low continue to stir often.

7. Remove from heat after thickened and stir in the vanilla. Place the compote in a freezer safe bowl and sit on ice in the freezer for at least 30 to 45 minutes to cool completely.

8. Preheat oven to 350. Once compote is cooled get the larger piece of dough out of the freezer and start to grate with larger holes on a grater directly into a Pam Sprayed 10 inch tart pan.

9. Pat down the dough into the pan lightly.

10. Spread the rhubarb compote over the first layer of dough evenly. MAKE sure to leave a least a half inch from the perimeter to prevent leaking on the outside.

11. Now take out the second dough ball and grate over the top of the rhubarb compote.

12. Pat down the dough very lightly. You will still see some compote poking through but it is okay.

13. Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 until the entire top is evenly golden brown.

14. Allow the pan to cool completely before cutting into this delightful treat.

Flourless Brownies

My sister is always asking me to try healthier recipes with using more secret healthier ingredients. So Jenna Lynn this one is for you….

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz drained and rinsed) Blackbeans
3/4 cup of egg substitute or 6 egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon of pure vanilla (Mexican is worth it)
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (Dark or Semi Sweet) you pick your poison
1 teaspoon of Expresso Powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup Splenda for baking

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Line 8 x 8 Pyrex dish with parchment paper and spray with Pam Spray

3. Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips in food processor and pulse until smooth (there will still be some black bean shaves of skin)

4. Remove blade and stir in chocolate chips

5. Pour batter in baking dish

6. Bake for 30 minutes

Yields: 16 Brownies 2 ww plus points each

Almond Cherry Granola Bars

Almond Cherry Granola Bars

Here is another great snack for the office. Tomorrow we have a co-worker moving on to a new career path. So as a farewell I baked a batch of these topnotch granola bars. Once you try these you will never purchase store bought, overly processed granola bars again and that is a promise. And if you do not like cherries try any other dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, raisins, or apricots).

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup whole raw almonds (coarsely chopped)

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries (or use your favorite dried fruit cranberries, blueberries, apricots)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup roasted unsalted shelled sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons milled flaxseed

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 400°. Mix oats and almonds on a large heavy baking sheet. Bake, stirring once, until just golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool on sheet.

• Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

• Meanwhile, line a 13x9x2-inch pyrex baking dish with parchment paper (allowing it to extend over long sides) and spray with pam cooking spray.

• Spray a large mixing bowl with pam. Place roasted oat mixture, cherries, coconut, sunflower seeds, and milled flaxseeds in bowl.

Bring 1/4 cup canola oil, honey, sugar, and salt to a boil in a small heavy deep saucepan (I love my all-clad), stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil for 1 minute. Immediately pour over oat mixture in bowl. Using a heatproof spatula, stir until evenly coated.

Transfer granola to prepared 9 by 13 pan. Lightly press evenly into pan; smooth top.

Bake for 10 minutes. Turn pan; continue baking until golden brown with slightly darker edges, about 15 minutes longer.

Transfer pan to a wire rack and let granola cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift granola from pan. Cut into 24 bars.

Enjoy

A Pinch of Luv

from scratch baking and cooking blog

Category Archives: Bars

Heath No Bake Granola Bars

Chewy Whole Grain Protein Bars

enjoy!

Perfectly Portioned Brownies

Hazelnut Spread No Bake Bars

Apple Spice Oat Bars

Pumpkin Granola Bars

Rich Brownies (dietitian not recommended)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Whole Wheat Shortbread

Flourless Brownies

Almond Cherry Granola Bars