Grain-Free Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Granola Bar Recipe

Boy, that title is a mouthful isn’t it? But, that’s how it originally appeared, so I’m keeping it. This is from joyfulabode.com, a Navy wife & mom who cooks grain-free. She has pictures of how a recipe should look at each stage, which I find very helpful. The direct link is posted at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

1. 2.5 cups assorted nuts & seeds
2. 1 cup dried fruit
3. 2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened – but I didn’t have to tell you that, right?)
4. 1/4 cup coconut oil
5. 1/2 cup honey (this is a little sweet for me, so next time I make these, I’m going to try 1/4 cup)
6. Splash of vanilla extract (or three)
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. Generous sprinkle of cinnamon
9. Some more cinnamon (a woman after my own heart!)

Instructions

1. Roughly chop 1 cup of the nuts and seeds. Place in a bowl (the largest bowl you own).
2. Use your food processor to pulse the other 1.5 cups of nuts and seeds into a finer “chop”. Add to the bowl. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a coffee/spice grinder or a hand chopper).
3. Add your fruit.
4. Stir in the dried coconut.
5. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine oil, honey, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Cook until the mixture bubbles, then pour over the fruit/nut mixture.
6. Stir to combine completely.
7. Press your mixture into a parchment-lined pan of some sort. Press HARD (and she’s not kidding).
8. Cool 2-3 hours, then remove from the pan & cut into bars.

These are my favorite “granola” bars or non-granola bars as the case may be. They are a little crumbly, but they are really great for a quick breakfast bar or snack.

Direct link: http://www.joyfulabode.com/2010/09/12/grain-free-granola-bars/