Hi! Sorry I have not posted in so long. In the normal course of events, I took the summer off but this fall I "went back to school" so have been too busy to post very often. I am on winter break now and have so much to share so I hope to pass along a lot of information before I resume classes late January.
To start with, here is a recipe for our New Favorite Gluten Free Snack bar. This recipe started one morning when I was staring at a box of Perky's Crunchy Flax cereal wondering what in the heck to do with it.
We do not eat much cereal anymore but I am too frugal to waste anything!
After a quick search on the internet, I found this recipe and it has become a family favorite.
I make it once or twice a month.
The kids love it as an after school snack and it works ok in a lunch box. The bars hold together much better if they are cold so they will fall apart if left in a lunch bag for too long!
It is far better than any bars you can buy and really pretty healthy.
The original recipe was posted on the Enjoy Life's Blog. I changed it to suit our taste and family as follows. Most notably I doubled the recipe! They hardly last a week as it is!
Our Favorite Gluten Free Snack Bars
6 Tablespoons Honey
4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Generous Pinch or Two of Salt (omit if using salted nut or seed butter)
3 Tablespoons Ground Flaxseed Meal (I use Bob's Redmill)
2 Cup Certified Gluten Free Quick or Rolled Oats (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain, Rolled Oats, 32-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4)
1 Cup Enjoy Life Foods Cereal Perkys Crunchy Flax z
1 Cup Gluten Free Mini Chocolate Chips - Use Dairy Free Chips for a GF and Casein Free treat such as Enjoy Life Foods Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips Gluten Free 10 OZ)
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the two sweeteners and the oil, and gently warm over low heat while stirring until the sugar crystals have dissolved. This should just take a couple of minutes.
Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Remove from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes.
Stir in the flaxseed, followed by the oats and cereal.
Let the mixture cool for few more minutes (so the chocolate chips will not melt) and then stir in the chocolate chips.
The mixture will be crumbly, but that is okay. Press it firmly into an 9 x 12 pan (put your had in a sandwich bag with a little oil on it to press it in). Make sure it is packed in there nicely, and then place the bars into the regrigerator to chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
Cut into bars. They will be very hard when they first come out of the refrigerator but loosen up as they get warm. Store them in the refrigerator to keep from getting too soft.
Email me any new recipes that you have to share at jamie@glutenfreemom.com!
