Heidi's Big Sur Power Bars

Following a cue from 101 Cookbooks, I decided to make some power bars for our upcoming camping trip. Of course, unfortunately we won't be going somewhere as amazing as she did! But we are excited for our trip...a last hurrah before we move & have actual jobs. Ew.

I made a whole bunch of changes based on what I had in the house. I can't say whether they are as good as the original, as I've never made the originals. In particular, I had no brown rice syrup & only about 1/2 cup of honey, so I did a mixture of applesauce, pb & honey for the "glue" of the bar.

Protein Bars
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown rice crispies
8 Tbsp flax seed meal
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup peanuts
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, hulled
2/3 cup coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan with the coconut oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 by 8-inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 by 13-inch pan.

On a rimmed baking sheet toast the almonds, pistachios, peanuts and coconut for about 7 minutes, or until the coconut is deeply golden. Toss once or twice along the way. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, coconut, and the cereal, together in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the honey, peanut butter, applesauce, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture and stir until it is evenly incorporated.

Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.

Makes 16 to 24 bars.

I have munched on some of the crumbs & so far they're delicious! They of course do not hold together as well as Heidi's and they seem like they are probably softer, but I really like the nutty flavor. I froze a bunch of them to see if they hold up better, so I'll let you know after this weekend!

Wish you all a weekend of beautiful weather! So far so good over here. :)