Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bars

A homemade granola bar with a bit of a chew and a crunch at the same time. Lot's of flavor and full of goodness you can taste in every bite. So colorful too! Be warned, these are delicious and won't last long. But no worries, they're easy to make so you can whip some up in cinch. :)

I originally started these as a no bake granola bar like the recipe at Gimme Some Oven, but felt they were a bit to sticky to handle, even after chilling in the fridge a while. I decided to bake them in order to harden the maple syrup and stiffen them a bit. They came out really good and still have a bit of chewiness but without the stickiness. If you want them a bit crunchy bake for a little longer. They really are a vibrant and delicious treat! This recipe will give you the option to decide if you want to bake or not...a lot may depend on the date paste and how much moisture there is...but you may find that you prefer it unbaked. 

Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about 15 dates)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds, optional
• 1 tablespoon hemp hearts, optional
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oat (I used GF)
• 1 cup unsalted pistachios
• 1 cup dried cranberries or fresh chopped
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate or a dark chocolate bar chopped into small pieces, optional

Place dates, maple syrup, chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax seed meal, optional cinnamon and salt in food processor/high speed blender and process until it becomes a paste like consistency. Move date paste to a medium size bowl and add the remainder of the ingredients, mix well.

In a loaf pan or 8x8 pan, lined with parchment paper or greased with coconut oil, spread the mixture evenly to all edges and corners, press down gently but firmly to ensure a compact mixture. Place in fridge for 30 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into bars.

Once chilled, gently remove loaf and place on hard surface. Cut into any size bar you like. If you feel that they are just right for you without baking than your done and can enjoy one right now, if not continue....also, you may decide to try a few bars just to see how it works for you.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bars on a prepared cookie sheet with either the same parchment paper used to chill or greased, bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. I put mine in the fridge to cool as I was being a bit impatient with this extra step but well worth it! It may take an hour or two to completely cool, especially if you used chocolate.

Store in an air tight container or keep in the fridge if you like. Eat within two weeks. If using fresh cranberries it's best to eat within a week. (I highly recommend trying some fresh cranberries, they add a nice tartness with the sweetness of the other ingredients)

Enjoy!

A little picture tutorial and more...

Date paste...depending on the freshness of your dates will determine how thin or thick your paste is. The paste shown here was with very fresh dates, they were moist and soft creating this very moist paste...this was almost too moist but I also used 1/3 cup syrup instead of 1/4 cup, probably didn't need to use that much with such soft dates. I've also used older dates with less moisture and added a tablespoon or so extra maple syrup to the paste for added moisture. Use your judgement...if you need any extra moisture at all it should only be a tablespoon or two at most. If you feel your paste is too wet, add extra oats in the next step.

I used fresh chopped cranberries in this batch...the fresh cranberries added a little tartness and paired well with the sweetness of some of the other ingredients without adding refined sugars that are usually in dried cranberries. You can find organic dried cranberries that use pure cane sugar or apple sauce to sweeten the berries. Fresh is always best so give it a try sometime, you may be surprised how good they are in this recipe.

Gently pack the mixture into a lined loaf pan, chill, cut and bake if desired. I spy my little Piper girl, always underfoot waiting for something to drop, or a hand to reach down and give her some love. We've had her since Halloween of 2010, she was a rescue dog and needed a home, and we needed her little spirit...it worked out perfectly. :)

Hope this inspires something wonderful in your future. Happy Holidays. :)

Oat Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Finally, a baked cookie to add to my recipes. This one is really a tasty little treat. It doesn't contain any butters or wheat flours...just oats, a few nice spices, raw or coconut sugar, coconut oil and lot's of love. This recipe even uses the food processor for easy mixing. These really remind me of a breakfast bar of sorts. They would be great in the morning, as well as after lunch, dinner or any time you just want a cookie that hits the spot with lots of wholesome goodness.

Oat Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seed meal
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 1/4 cup rolled or quick oats, divided
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar, turbinado or pure cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon himalayan salt
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (in it's melted state)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons almond butter, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100% fruit jam for filling (I used strawberry & blueberry)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine chia seeds/flax seed meal with the almond milk in a small bowl, set aside for at least 10 min.

In food processor, add 1 cup oats and blend until you have a rough oat flour. In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, remaining oats, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add coconut oil, maple syrup, optional nut butter, chia/flax mixture and vanilla, blend until it comes together and forms a ball. If you find your dough is too dry and not forming a ball, add a tablespoon or so of water.

Scoop 1 tablespoon or so of the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with a silpat, parchment paper or lightly greased, you should get about 12 cookies. Using the bake of a teaspoon, make an impression in the middle of each cookie. If edges crack a bit, press it together gently. Add one teaspoon of fruit jam/filling into each dent. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once. Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes and enjoy.

Store in an air-tight container. In the container they will soften a bit so I suggest eating within a few days or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Makes approx. 12 smallish cookies.

Enjoy !

Adapted from this recipe