Allergy-Free Energy Bars

Ryan is big on eating energy bars throughout the day.  In attempts to save a little money I tried to make him some bars.  I tried one recipe and it turned out like banana bread but then I found a recipe from here.  It turned out better than I  imagined it would and the following recipe and instructions are from here but slightly altered by me to make them allergy free.

What you will need:

3/4 cup peanut butter 

3/4 cup sweetener syrup (honey OR GF brown rice syrup OR good quality Agave nectar)

1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds

1 cup unsulfured dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, pineapple, raisins- use your favorite dried fruits in any combination)

4 cups gluten-free rice crispie cereal

1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper 

Place  seeds and dried fruit in the bowl of a food processor o. Pulse several times, just until the mixture is coarsely ground.

In a large saucepan melt peanut butter with liquid sweetener over medium low heat. Stir and watch carefully to prevent scorching. When the mixture is smooth and bubbling cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add salt and vanilla and stir to combine. Use a large spatula to stir in seeds, dried fruit and cereal. Stir until all ingredients are coated with peanut butter mixture.

Scrape mixture on to the prepared baking sheet. Use the spatula to evenly spread the mixture on the pan. Place a large piece of waxed paper over the mixture and use a rolling pin to smooth the top of the mixture. Cover with the waxed paper and refrigerate for about 2 hours before cutting the energy bars into whatever sizes you prefer.

Wrap bars in waxed paper and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Yield- About 16 -32 bars depending on how they are cut. I made 16 large bars by cutting the mixture in half lengthwise and then cutting each half into 8 pieces, about 1 1/2 inches wide.

We love them so much that I will be making a second batch shortly.

xo

Erin