No Bake Snack Bars
I have to catch up on some cooking posts! Recently I discovered the joys of no bake snack bars. One of my friends used to sell Tupperware, and I was entranced by a snack bar mold. If you recall, material culture was one of my favourite classes at ACAD - while it's true that you DON'T need a snack bar mold to make snack bars, it's the idea pressing spoonfuls of granola mix into these little molds that sealed the deal. Plus the tray came in the most enchanting shade of medium blue...
Anyway, I took inspiration from this recipe (warning, it's one of those blogs that blabs for half an hour before getting to the recipe!). Basically, take five or so favourite ingredients and make sure two of them can be used as binders. The original recipe calls for:
The flavour varies depending on accuracy, but so far I haven't been disappointed. It may be a little tempting to make the bars more moist by adding water, but don't do this. It will be gross. I also divide the chocolate chips so that half get melted along with the cashew butter and honey in the microwave and the other half stay solid.
I may get more adventurous down the road, but I love that they're so quickly and easy to make. I made little ball versions for the last office potluck and they went pretty fast. Of course, it's awesome that you can control the ingredients. In the last few years I have noticed a mild allergy/mouth itch when it comes to almonds. A lot of the fancy True To Nature type snack bars make my mouth itch and I haven't been able to figure out why. It's just easier to make them at home on the cheap and know what goes into them for sure :-)
Anyway, I took inspiration from this recipe (warning, it's one of those blogs that blabs for half an hour before getting to the recipe!). Basically, take five or so favourite ingredients and make sure two of them can be used as binders. The original recipe calls for:
- 1 heaping cup packed (~220 g) dates, pitted (deglet noor or medjool)*
- 1/4 cup (84 g) maple syrup or agave nectar (or honey if not vegan)
- 1/4 cup (64 g) creamy salted natural peanut butter or almond butter
- 1 cup (112 g) roasted unsalted almonds, loosely chopped (see instructions for roasting nuts)
- 1 1/2 cups (135 g) rolled oats (gluten-free for GF eaters)
- optional additions: chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, banana chips, vanilla, etc.
- 1/4 cup (84 g) organic honey
- 1/4 cup (64 g) Nuts to You cashew butter
- sprinkle of chia seeds
- 1 1/2 cups (135 g) rolled oats (gluten-free for GF eaters)
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
The flavour varies depending on accuracy, but so far I haven't been disappointed. It may be a little tempting to make the bars more moist by adding water, but don't do this. It will be gross. I also divide the chocolate chips so that half get melted along with the cashew butter and honey in the microwave and the other half stay solid.
I may get more adventurous down the road, but I love that they're so quickly and easy to make. I made little ball versions for the last office potluck and they went pretty fast. Of course, it's awesome that you can control the ingredients. In the last few years I have noticed a mild allergy/mouth itch when it comes to almonds. A lot of the fancy True To Nature type snack bars make my mouth itch and I haven't been able to figure out why. It's just easier to make them at home on the cheap and know what goes into them for sure :-)