I keep these simple ingredients in my pantry so that I can make these up in minutes.
Inexpensive to make and can be wrapped individually then frozen for quick snack grabs for lunches or outings.
Servings: 20
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter or Earth's Balance Dairy Free, soy free butter sticks (you'll need 2 sticks)
1/2 cup org. brown rice syrup (lower GI, but also less sweet), Lyle's syrup, maple syrup or honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups gluten free oats
2/3 cup shredded coconut
Optional: 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds or chopped nut of choice.
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees
On a parchment lined baking sheet, place the oats and coconut and any nuts or seeds you are using and spread out onto the cookie sheet. Toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes until just starting to look and smell toasty. Remove from oven and set aside
In a large saucepan add butter, syrup and bring to a boil, stirring a few times. Once at the boil, let boil 1 minute without stirring.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, baking powder, salt. Picking up the sides of the parchment paper, slide the oats and coconut mixture into the saucepan or *large bowl with hot mixture, stir well.
*If your sauce pan is not large enough to hold all the ingredients, put oats and coconut into a large bowl and pour the hot mixture over and stir well.
In a greased or parchment lined half cookie sheet 18 X 13 press the mixture into the pan with the back of a fork.
Bake for 18-20 minutes depending on oven. You want them lightly golden brown. They will puff up in the oven and look gooey, but will firm up as they cool.
Let cool for 15-20 minutes then score into bars. Let cook completely before separating the bars.
Store in air tight container or wrap individually and keep in a zip lock bag in the freezer for fast snack bars on the go.