Recipes

[lolakimono]

BF made these for me. They do definitely NOT taste like candy, LOL. They are also SUPER filling.

soft pumpkin granola bars

makes 12

ingredients

2 c rolled oats (trader joe's and bob's red mill sell gluten free rolled oats)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of cloves

a pinch of allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 1/4 c almond milk (other milks would work too)

1 c pumpkin puree

2 to 4 tb honey, depending on how sweet you'd like them***

3/4 c toasted and chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, dried fruit, or any other fun mix-ins (optional)

***the original recipe (and the one that i use) does not include any sugar. i like them like that, but as you can see from the comments, people want their sugar! i asked readers who did indeed enjoy them on the first try and they added anywhere from 2 to 4 tablespoons of honey. you could also try these with molasses, agave, or brown sugar.

clues

preheat oven to 400. prepare a 12-inch loaf pan and set aside.

in a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. mix in vanilla, eggs, almond milk, pumpkin, and honey. fold in nuts/seeds/fruit/mix-ins, if using.

spread evenly in loaf pan. bake for 35-45 minutes, until the top is set and starts to darken.

let cool and slice into 1-inch bars. store in the fridge or freezer.

[lolakimono]

I have not tried these, but your vegan son might like them.

5-Ingredient breakfast granola bars

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/2 cup of your favorite nut (almonds, cashews or peanuts are all great options), chopped

3/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup brown rice syrup or agave (honey works too, if you're okay with a non-vegan option!)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

2. In a small sauce pan over low heat, mix together the peanut butter and agave (or rice syrup, or honey...) until creamy and slightly runny.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, chia seeds and the chopped nuts. Pour the peanut butter mixture over and stir together. Using your fingers is the easiest way to make sure everything gets combined. Your dough should be fairly sticky, so if it is too crumbly, add more peanut butter a little at a time until everything is moistened.

4. Press the dough into the greased pan. Press *hard* to make sure the dough is firmly stuck together. Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes or until just golden brown.

5. Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Place a second wire rack over the pan and flip it upside down. Tap the bottom of the pan a couple times to release the granola "cake" and remove the pan. Allow it to cool completely on the wire rack.

6. Place your granola "cake" on a cutting board and slice into squares. Makes about 16-18 squares depending on how large you want them. Enjoy!

3 Tricks to Getting These Right:

There are three must-follow tricks to making sure you create granola bars and not simply crumbly granola. Of course, even crumbly, this recipe is a delicious snack, but if you want it to come in a bar form, then follow these tips:

1. Sticky dough -- make sure your dough is sticky enough and not too crumbly. If you're getting oats, nuts and seeds falling out of the mix and into the bottom of the bowl as you stir, then you need more peanut butter or syrup. Everything should still stick together fairly well in moist, crumbly chunks in the bowl.

2. Pack the granola into the pan hard. You need to really press the dough down into the pan. I actually put a layer of parchment paper over the granola, then placed a book over the parchment paper and stood on the book, moving it and stepping on it until everything was pressed down as firmly as it was going to go.

3. Cut only after the granola "cake" has cooled completely. If you try to slice it into bars when it is still warm, it will crumble into large pieces. So be patient and wait until it is room temperature before cutting it into squares.

[house cat]

Thanks, everyone

I have big plans for trying some of these, but little time.