Last week, I was asked to organize a sailing experience for a group of women. I was in charge of the event, including the refreshments and snacks. Before we get to the good stuff, I have a confession to make. I love to cook but baking is really not my thing. I leave it up to my daughter, Charlotte, who is a whiz at creating desserts. She has even started her own food blog called Sweet-Sundays.
Getting ready for a sail
Back to the snacks, I decided that I should make an array of desserts and energy bites for the morning/lunch event. Thinking that we were all women, and undoubtedly there would be some gluten-free candidates, I decide to make a nutty energy-type bar. You will notice, that there is no baking involved and a freedom to play with the ingredients. That is why I really like this recipe!
While searching for ingredients for my favorite store-bought Kind Bars, I came across a recipe for the homemade version from Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny. I continued looking at a number of different bar recipes, but Kelly’s seemed the least complicated, with items that I had on hand in my pantry and freezer (I keep all my nuts in the freezer, as they last longer). Chocolate and nuts
Mixing it up with lots of nuts
To my great surprise, this nutty treat was the hit of the day! The texture, caramel-like flavour and salty sweetness was exactly what my sailing mates needed after fighting gale-force winds and tying knots for hours. We actually never got off the dock due to those winds but we did satisfy our sweet tooths, which is always a plus for me.
Any mix of nuts works well for this recipe
If you happen to have a large collection of nuts about to go off or filling the side of your freezer, do not fret, this is the recipe for you. You can be creative and add the nuts you have, to create your own personalized Kind Bar.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roasted unsalted almonds, whole
- ¾ cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts, whole
- ¾ cup roasted walnuts, chopped
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 2/3 cup puffed rice
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1/3 cup rice syrup
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup dark chocolate pieces, melted
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, leaving some foil overhanging the pan
- In a large greased bowl, mix together nuts,cranberries, puffed rice and flaxseed meal together and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine brown rice syrup, honey, vanilla (maple syrup) and sea salt and bring to a boil, continually whisking for 5 minutes.
- Pour syrup mixture immediately over nut mixture and stir to combine.
- Transfer mixture onto the lined pan and spread out evenly, making sure there are no gaps and that the bars are the thickness that you desire.
- Allow mixture to cool for at least 20 minutes.
- While mixture is cooling, carefully melt chocolate either in microwave or in a water bath.
- Take the block of nuts out of the pan, flip onto a cutting board and peel away the foil.
- Cut into even-sized bars and allow to cool completely before drizzling with chocolate.
- Spoon the chocolate drizzle over the bars and let sit at room temperature until the chocolate has set.
- Store bars in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze to save for later.
Notes
Keep nuts in freezer to have them last longer. Bars can also be stored in freezer
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