Gluten-free chocolate-cranberry energy bars (Still Baking #2)

Hey! You know what I haven't posted in a while? A recipe for something! I'm going to change that today with an easy energy bar recipe. This is based on a recipe in Sarah Matheny's Peas and Thank You. I de-glutenized it and added a few tweaks of my own, but if you like it, I recommend checking out her book... which has another super yummy (and already GF) energy bar recipe I keep meaning to try.



Here's my version, in any case:

GF Chocolate-cranberry energy bars
makes 12 smallish bars

3 tbsp ground flax seed
6 tbsps water

2c oats
1/4c almond meal
3 tbsps soy flour
3 tbsps quinoa flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4c sugar
1/4c chocolate chips
1/2c dried cranberries

6 tbsps peanut butter
2 tbsps tahini
1/4c agave nectar

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper. (Or spray if you want to. I like parchment paper because I am so lazy.)
2. Mix together flax and water in a small bowl and set aside to get good and gooey.
3. Put all the dry ingredients (oats, almond meal, soy flour, quinoa flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, chocolate chips, cranberries) in a large bowl and stir well to combine.
4. Dump flax-water mixture, peanut butter, tahini, and agave in on top of dry ingredients and mix vigorously.
5. Spread out the mixture (which will be ugly as sin) in your baking dish.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then allow to cool for at least another 15 before digging in.

And that's it! You know how I am always hating on quinoa flour and how it tastes so quinoa-y. You actually can't taste it in this recipe. Must be hidden under all the other deliciousness.

I do think these came out a touch too sweet. I had already decreased the sweetener slightly from the P&TY recipe but would go further next time-- maybe cut out the dry sugar entirely and see how they hold up with just the agave. The cranberries and the chocolate chips make these sweet enough already.

We used up the end of the peanut butter making these, and the Emperor asked if he could have a taste of the PB so I just gave him the jar and a spoon, figuring he'd give up pretty soon after realizing there wasn't much left to scoop up. But he really went to town making sure he got every bit of peanut butter he could get out of that jar... here he is fishing for more:



Obviously peanut butter is very serious business.