Hello September

Cooking With Mommy

Published by Veronica Johnson · September 1 at 6:14pm · 

‪#‎CookingWithMommy‬

HOMEMADE KIND BARS {GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN}

PREP TIME
5 mins
COOK TIME
18 mins
TOTAL TIME
23 mins

Recipe by:: Camilla
Recipe type: Energy Bars
Serves: 10

INGREDIENTS
1-1/3 cups toasted or raw nuts or seeds, coarsely chopped
¼ cup crisp rice cereal (Erewhon brand for Gluten-free, or Rice Krispies)
⅓ cup chopped dried fruit (any variety/combination to create different tastes; this also includes unsweetened coconut)
⅛ tsp fine sea salt
¼ cup brown rice syrup or organic corn syrup (e.g., Wholesome Sweeteners brand)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325F. Line an 8-inch square pan (9-inch is too big* see note below) with foil and lightly spray with (do not skip these steps!).
In a medium bowl, combine the chopped nuts/seeds, and dried fruit. Add the salt and syrup and stir to coat.
Scrape/dump mixture into prepared pan. Now, to press it out evenly: Tear off a good size piece of foil (around the size of the pan or slightly smaller). Lightly spray it with nonstick spray. Use the sprayed side of foil to press and spread evenly into pan. Works like a charm!
Bake for 18 minutes (the bars will not be hard at this point). Place pan on cooling rack and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes (give or take) until partially set up (it will depend on how hot or cold the kitchen—just don’t cool completely). Use the sides of foil to lift the bars from the pan. Do not try to remove from foil—they will stick like crazy. Cut into 10 bars.
Go and do something else until bars are completely cooled. Once cooled, the bars will lift right off of the foil. Wrap in parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
NOTES
Variation

Just Nuts KIND Bars: Follow recipe above but omit the dried fruit; increase the nuts to 2 cups.

Notes
Note about Toasted vs. Raw Nuts: I am a big fan of the toasted nut. You can use either raw or toasted in these bars, but seriously…they are so much yummier if you toast the nuts first! If you, like me, experience burst of laziness, feel free to use roasted nuts (seeds, too). If they are lightly salted, just be sure to omit the added salt.

Note about Measuring Nuts: Measure the nuts BEFORE you chop (i.e., 1 cup unchopped nuts, then chop them). If you measure 1 cup chopped nuts, you will have too many.

Note about Measuring Dried Fruit: Conversely to measuring nuts, here you want to chop the fruit first, and then measure.

Note about Pans: If you don’t have the correct pan size, don’t fret. If you have a 9-inch pan, you can increase all of the quantities slightly (e.g., about 1-2/3 to 1-3/4 cups total nuts and seeds, ½ cup dried fruit, ⅓ cup syrup). Cooking times remain the same. And if you only have a round pan, use it! Who says these have to be cut into rectangles? Wedges or crazy shapes are pretty cool and every bit as delicious.