Sorry guys, but I just couldn’t help but tease you a little yesterday!
As promised I have a recipe for you today. But not just any recipe…this would actually be my first ever attempt at making my own homemade granola bars!
It’s no secret around here that I have a bit of an addiction to snack bars…
#proof that a hoarder CAN in fact be organized…despite the portrait painted on
prime time television.
Weekend project: Over the door shoe organizer turned snack bar holder! Feel free stand in utter awe of my genius-ness and then steal it for yourself! 😉
Unfortunately, there aren’t many bars out there that meet 100% of my expectations in the nutritional department. Alas, they can’t all be Simply Bars! 😉 I try to ignore the fact that some of the tastiest selections (here’s looking at you Luna) also have a pretty lengthy ingredient list with at least three different types of sugar.
So, I got in the kitchen on Saturday determined to make an all natural, low sugar but FULL of flavor snack bar!
It started with homemade almond butter…
Just almonds and a food processor…and maybe a little coconut oil at the end if you’re impatient like me! 😉
And ended with pure deliciousness!
Almond Butter Granola Bars
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Keywords: bake snack dairy-free vegan vegetarian low sugar peanut free almonds oats maple syrup
Ingredients (12-15 bars)
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 flax egg (1 Tablespoon flax + 3 Tablespoons water)
- 1 cup sliced peaches (fresh or thawed from frozen)*, pureed
- 1/3 cup creamy almond butter
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/8 cup pure maple syrup
- 10-12 drops liquid vanilla stevia (or more depending on taste)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Prepare flax “egg” in a small bowl and allow to set.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine oats, flour, and cinnamon.
4. Puree peaches in a blender until smooth then add to a bowl with almond butter, maple syrup, extracts, and flax egg and stir to combine.
5. Add wet ingredients to your oat and flour mixture.
6. Transfer onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges start to crisp and turn brown.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 10 minutes before slicing.
8. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.
Notes:
You can really used any mild flavored fruit for the fruit puree. I was out of applesauce, so just used what I had on hand and it worked just fine. Pumpkin puree would also work.
If you don’t have maple extract (which I HIGHLY recommend. It’s fabulous in oats!) then you can sub in vanilla extract instead…they just won’t be as maple-y! 😉
And finally, if want to sub in regular flour for the coconut, I think it would work, just fine, but I would maybe increase it to 1/2 cup to compensate for the high absorption of the coconut flour.
Soft and chewy, and a little crumbly, these babies were calling my name from the kitchen counter all day yesterday. I did my best to save enough to photograph, but after that…
All bets were off!
And heck, with stats like these,
there is NO reason I can’t go back for seconds…or thirds! 😉
Do you frequently buy or make bars to have as daily snacks?
What do you look for (nutritionally speaking) in the bars that you choose?
**Edited to add**
Dude!!! How could I forget!
I’ve got some giveaway winners to announce!
Guess all this bar talk got me distracted! 😉
The winner of the free case of Simply Bars chosen by random.org isssssss:
And the winner of the sleek and stylish slow cooker chosen by Sue from SlimKicker is:
Congratulations ladies! I’ll be emailing you shortly to get your shipping deets!
Thank you all SO much for entering the giveaways. I love so much when I get the opportunity to give back to all my lovely readers out there! 🙂
