Yesterday I wrote about my oldest son's new food sensitivity to his favorite food- peanut butter and my experience with making my own pecan butter. I needed a substitute to replace peanut butter and almond butter to make the most of my time in the kitchen. Since I have a high reaction to almond butter and he reacts to peanut butter, I wanted a substitute that both of us could eat. Again, allergy-free cooking has brought me to a new food that I would never have discovered.
These gluten-free granola oat bars are great with this pecan butter and they have a delicious taste with lots of fiber and nutrients. Just so you know, they were sweet to my taste buds and probably the sweetest thing I've tasted in 7 years! I normally eat a very low glycemic diet and have enjoyed cooking and baking with agave nectar which is considered safe for diabetics and others requiring a low glycemic diet.
My goal, as in all of my cooking, is to make my recipes with the lowest amount of sweeteners. However in this recipe I found they would not hold together very well without lots of the agave nectar. In order not to waste all these ingredients, I opted to use a cup of agave. You can probably imagine how much my family really loved these.
If peanuts or other nuts are not a problem for you, I'm sure they would be easier to use in this recipe. Just open the jar...oh how I miss those days.
Gluten-free Granola Oat Bars Agave Sweetened
Ingredients:
2 cups shredded dry coconut, unsweetened
1 1/2 cups gluten-free oats
1 1/2 cups gluten-free raisins
2 cups organic sunflower seeds, raw
3/4 cup pecans or your favorite nuts
9 dates, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup agave nectar
1 cup pecan butter or other nut butter
1/4 cups Enjoy Life Chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Blend agave and pecan butter in a bowl. Mix with all other ingredients.
Line a jelly-roll pan with greased parchment paper.
Pat mixture firmly into pan with a greased spoon or your hands.
Bake at 275 degrees for about 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and pat down firmly again.
Let cool a bit.
Cut into squares.
Store in the refrigerator to keep cool. It also makes them crunchy which we liked.
This recipe was adapted from Cream Hill Estates Gluten-free Oats.
oh my!! those look DELISH! and all i've been using lately is agave nectar! I will have to try these!! thanks for posting!!
ReplyDeleteThese look so good! I just love how you have packed in the nutrients. I am going to try these out using almond butter (it is what we have). My girls love granola type snacks - when I get around to making them - I have been busy creating other recipes lately! :)
ReplyDeleteThose bars look delicious! I've been looking for something simple and gf to snack on.
ReplyDeleteThat recipe looks delicious!! I am writing that one down. :) I have a good friend who will enjoy that one too.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're having a wonderful week!
Debbie, I have nominated you for the Attitude of Gratitude Award. You certainly deserve it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.glutenfreehomemaker.com/2009/04/attitude-of-gratitude.html
I'm allergic to almonds as well and my son is to peanuts and sunflower seeds. We use cashew butter and it works great! perhaps I'll replace the sunflower seeds with pumpkin seeds. This recipe looks promising :)
ReplyDeleteYou have many allergies to work around for your family. I hope it works well for you!
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