Chewy Granola Bars

These chewy, no bake granola bars are kind of a cooking epiphany for me. For a long time after I began my home cooking journey, I struggled with finding a good granola bar recipe. They were either too crunchy or too soft or too crumbly. A friend of mine gave me a recipe that worked, finally! I was even able to successfully vegan-ize it! But when I realized I couldn't have oats, the process started all over again. How do you make granola bars without rolled oats? I wasn't interested in bars with that homogeneous "Clifbar" texture. I tried using all nuts, but they didn't stick together well, and they were awfully expensive compared to using oats. I tried toasting seed grains, like Millet and Quinoa, and those were just kind of weird. But, alas, I discovered buckwheat cereal and quinoa flakes, which make a great replacement for rolled oats. These are made lighter in texture with the addition of puffed cereal. 

Chewy Granola Bars 

gluten free, dairy free

makes 2 dozen (recipe can be halved)

Wet:

1 c almond butter (store bought or homemade, you can also use peanut butter)

1/3 c honey

1/3 c sugar

1/4 c coconut oil

1/4 c brown rice syrup (this makes them a bit firmer, but you can omit and double the honey)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Dry:

1/2 c buckwheat cereal (looks kind of like steel cut oats, I used Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 c quinoa flakes

1/2 c ground flaxseed

1 c puffed brown rice

1 c puffed millet

1 c sliced almonds

1 c finely chopped walnuts

1 c chopped dried cherries (or other fruit)

Optional: chocolate chips

In a small pot, combine wet ingredients. Heat on low or medium low, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and everything is well blended. 

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients. 

Pour your wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir well to thoroughly combine. Use your hands if needed! 

Line a 9x13 glass dish with parchment paper. Helpful hint: use clothes pins to hold the parchment in place as you dump in the granola. Remove the clothes pins, and start pressing everything down in to an even layer. I use an extra piece of parchment to keep my hands from getting sticky, but you could use wet or lightly greased hands if you wish. You really want to get it compacted tightly. That is what makes them stick together. 

If you wish to use chocolate chips, press them into the top of the bars as you are compacting them. (If you add them while stirring, they will probably melt.) I added some to half of mine. 

Allow to sit and cool for at least an hour. You can speed up the process by putting them in the refrigerator, but it's not necessary. 

Cut into 24 squares. Prepare to make more tomorrow, because everyone will eat them all up. At least that is what happens in my house.