I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for weeks and my sister just asked me for it.  She actually had the granola bars and the fact that she wants the recipe tells me that it’s worth posting.  I never know when it’s something that only I eat. 

My best friend Elaina actually gets all the credit for this recipe.  It is her brainchild and I just changed it up a bit to make it friendly for my food restrictions.

Ingredients:

2 cups GF whole rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 flax meal OR sesame seed meal
1/4 cup reduced fat unsweetened coconut (shredded)
1/2 cup raw honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp natural almond butter
2 tsp natural vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 scoop GF chocolate protein powder
1/2 cup chia seeds
3/4 cup cacao nibs

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 (thicker bars) or 9×9 (thinner bars) baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

-Spread the first 4 ingredients (oats, almonds, flax/sesame meal, coconut) onto a shallow rimmed baking sheet. Put in oven 15 minutes, stirring once or twice.

-Meanwhile, combine all of the remaining ingredients except the chia seeds and cacao nibs in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium/medium-low heat until everything is dissolved and the texture is thin enough to easily pour. Stir frequently, and be careful not to scorch.

-Once the dry ingredients are toasted, remove them from the oven and turn the temperature down to 300 degrees. Once the dry ingredients are cool enough, combine them and the chia seeds and cacao nibs in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

-Slowly stir in the honey mixture, completely coating the dry ingredients.

-Immediately tip the contents into the square baking pan and flatten down with a spatula or wooden spoon. Be sure to firmly pack the contents into the pan.

-Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

-Leaving the contents in the baking pan, cut into bars. Put the pan in the fridge to harden the bars the rest of the way.

-After 30 minutes or so, remove the pan from the fridge and liberate your granola bars. (total Elaina-ism that I’m keeping in here =D)

-Store in the fridge.

-Enjoy!

I LOVE these things and totally give them a 5 out of 5.  They are softer than most granola bars and sort of fall apart but I don’t mind that at all.  They take some time, but are WORTH IT.  My niece, Tessa, LOVED them as well.  Lu likes them sometimes-when she’s in the mood .  Shaun, who usually turns his nose up at these sorts of things said it was good. 

Of note, Elaina uses plain protein powder and 1 cup dried fruit instead of the chocolate protein powder and cacao nibs which would be delicious too.

They are a great oatmeal, yogurt, and ice “cream” topper as well.