free from gluten and the top 8 allergens
This trail mix bar is made with wholesome ingredients for bars you’ll feel good about eating.
Trail mix bar is the perfect name, cause they’re a super on-the-go snack, great for a hike or a picnic. And Joel loves ’em for breakfast with his coffee.
So…so…easy! Why not skip the packaged bars and make your own?
The inspiration for this week’s post was originally intended for the most amazing hippie bars from Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders in Santa Clarita, CA. One of their baristas bakes amazing vegan and gluten-free pastries.
We dissected her hippie bars many times and set out to recreate them.
Hanging around for 4 days, our bananas were still not as ripe as we’d like for that perfect bar.
We’ll have to revisit the hippie bar down the road. When we do, we’ll be sure to share our version of that tasty treat.
Let’s make bars anyway. How ’bout replacing bananas with sunflower butter and applesauce? Ah, yes! A totally different bar, and wow! Really good!
In a large bowl, combine sunflower seed butter, applesauce, maple syrup, and a little coconut oil.
Process oats in a food processor until coarsely chopped, but still having a lot of texture. Transfer oats to the sunflower seed butter mixture and mix with your hands until fully incorporated.
Add toasted pepita and sunflower seeds, dried fruit, coconut, chocolate chips, chia seeds, and salt. Mix with your hands to form a stiff dough.
Transfer the mixture into an 8″ x 8″ baking pan lightly coated with oil and lined with parchment paper. With slightly wet hands, press down on the dough until smooth and compacted.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and lightly golden around the edges. Once completely cool, cut into bars.
Mix ‘n Match
If tree nuts are not an issue, you can substitute a portion of the seeds for roughly chopped almonds and walnuts. Feel free to substitute your favorite nut butter for the sunflower seed butter.
We used dried cherries. Other dried fruits can be substituted, including cranberries, apricots, blueberries, golden or dark raisins, or a combination.
When planning a trip either in the air or on the road, these bars are the perfect safe snack.
Trail Mix Bars
Yield 10 Bars
Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.
This trail mix bar is made with wholesome ingredients for bars you'll free good about eating.
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sunflower butter
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature (optional)
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup dried fruit, such as cherries, apricots, cranberries, raisins or a combination
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut or coconut flakes
1/2 cup chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chips
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. Place the pepitas and sunflower seeds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Roast nuts until lightly golden, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. This step is optional. However, we love the depth of flavor that the roasted seeds bring to the bars.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350-degrees F. Lightly grease an 8" x 8" baking dish and line with a piece of parchment paper (with overhang) so the bars are easier to remove.
- In a large bowl, combine the sunflower butter, applesauce, maple syrup, and coconut oil.
- Place the oats into a food processor and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped, still having a lot of texture. Transfer oats to the sunflower butter mixture and mix with your hands until fully incorporated.
- Add the cooled pepita and sunflower seeds, dried fruit, coconut, chocolate chips, chia seeds, and salt. Mix with your hands. The dough will be stiff.
- Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish. With lightly wet hands, press down on the dough until smooth and compacted.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and lightly golden around the edges.
- Place the dish on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then carefully slide a knife to loosen the edges and gently lift out. Place the slab on cooling rack until completely cool.
- Once cool, slice into bars.
Courses Sweets