These hearty breakfast bars remind me of a granola bar or an omega-3 packed power bar. They’re filling and tasty.
After I made a batch of these and was waiting for them to cool before cutting and stylizing them for a “photo shoot,” my younger son proudly taunted me that he had picked out all of the raisins from the top of the bars.
Needless to say, I was quite miffed. Especially since I have a couple of half gallon jars full of raisins at the boys disposal which they freely dip into when they have a “sugar” fix.
Well, I found a corner of the bars that still had the raisins mostly in tact for the photo above.
Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- ¼ cup agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup blanched slivered almonds
- ¼ cup raisins
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
- In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
- Stir dry ingredients into wet
- Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins
- Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with grapeseed oil
- Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes
- Cool bars in pan for 2 hours, then serve
None of the nuts and seeds in this low-maintenance bar are toasted. I wanted to make something quick and easy, that could be whipped up in just a couple of minutes before popping into the oven.
In other news, NPR just ran an interesting story on celiac disease that I think is worth checking out.
kerri says
First, I love these too and they are my new addiction. For those that had crumbly bars, this is what I tried and it worked well: 2 TBSP grapeseed oil instead of 1/4 cup, added two egg whites to the wet ingredients. 3 TBSP agave nectar instead of 1/4 c. Allowed the bars to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes (so hard to wait!) before trying to cut or remove from pan. enjoy!
Patty says
sorry. I had to correct a few typos above. ;)
it’s an excellent template for all sorts of elements. I’ve *cut* the agave slightly & added just a touch of maple syrup for the flavor.
Patty says
I’ve made these twice now & while they have a slight tendency to crumble at the edges, I don’t find that it’s excessive. I can put a few into a square container for work & they’re still whole when I come to eat them. This is a wonderful recipe — it’s an excellent template of all sorts of elements. I’ve got the agave slightly & added just a touch of maple syrup for the flavor. I’m not big on sunflower seeds so have thrown in crushed cashews & almonds. VERY tasty. Chopped dried apricots are excellent in here. I keep thinking that a few tablespoons of almond butter might help with some of the crumbling issues but I think it needs to go in with the wet ingredients & I keep thinking of it as I mix it all. Thanks so very much for sharing your recipes!
Vanessa says
I made these bars yesterday, and like many, they turned out VERY crumbly, even if I followed the recipe (with all indicated ingredients) and refrigerated them before cutting and eating them.
They do taste very good but I really wanted bars and not granola…
Has anyone tried with flax egg substitute (I do not eat eggs)?
Wanda Severns says
I have made the morning bars with flax seed, and they are fantastic. I don’t find them crumbly at all. I lower the heat a bit, and cook them for 20 minutes, and they come out perfectly.
Wanda Severns says
Sorry, I made a mistake above. I use chia flour, not flax. So, with chia flour, (1 tsp chia flour for 3 tsp water or lemon juice ), if you lower the heat a bit, and cook them for 20 minutes, they come out perfectly.
Eileen says
Don’t give up on the recipe as is. I make these almost weekly and sometimes they are more crumbly than others. Think that nuances of temperature and measure have something to do with it, but more often than not, they are slightly crumbly but still easily portable. Refrigerating before slicing and serving helps.
Joceline says
Thanks! I’ll try putting them in the fridge before cutting them I think. They taste so lovely I think I’ll definitely make them again.
At the moment I’m treating the crumble as a breakfast cereal and it’s really good :)
Wanda Severns says
Sounds like you are cooking them too long. Really, if careful, and if you massage the wet ingredients through the dry, it should work. Overbaking does make them crumbly
Joceline says
I made these just now and they taste SO good :)
The thing is though they didn’t hold together too well and are really crumbly. I just ate some of the ‘crumble’ with dairy free custard and it made a great dessert but I’d like to try and make them again as proper bars that hold together.
Does anyone have any ideas or experience of this? I made sure all the dough was well combined and pressed into the dish firmly. Maybe an egg?
Thanks
Joceline
bridget says
have made these a few times now.. and always vary what nuts/seeds/dried fruit I have used.. and sometimes they are a bit crumbly.. today I added about a tablespoon of coconut flour to the mixture, and they seem to be a bit more solid.. yay!
Vee says
I made these yesterday,and ate one ths morning.. they tasted great!!! Like others have said mine were also crumbly. Any suggestions? I would still make them again, crumbly or not.
Amanda says
I just made these! Unfortunately, when it came to cutting them into bars and taking them out the tray, they started crumbling. So now I don’t have bars, but rather, chunky bits of granola. They still taste really awesome though. :)
I wonder if being in the heat of summer and sitting at high altitude has something to do with the crumbling?
Jenn B says
Sorry about that…my toddler hit enter.
In any case, I left them in another 5 mins and they still looked soft. So I stuck them in the fridge until morning. Tried to cut them and they just fell apart. We ended up pouring almond milk over it as a cereal, which was excellent, but not the bar we were looking for.