So Good So Easy

I finally got around to making Smitten Kitchen's chewy granola bars and oh boy are they delicious! Not to mention super easy and super flexible. They're definitely better than any store bought granola bar and better even than some cookies. But the best part is that they are wheat and gluten free. Ever since I got pregnant my body cannot handle gluten or wheat. My joints and feet start to stiffen up if I eat too much of it. Try to find any baked good that tastes fantastic (besides no flour chocolate cakes and such) and has no flour. Difficult. So this is going to replace scones for me unless anyone can recommend an excellent gluten/wheat free scone recipe. I tried some quinoa banana bread, which was tasty but no substitute for a scone.

Back to the recipe. I made a few adjustments to her recipe. Instead of six tablespoons of butter I used Canola oil and for the sweet liquid I used all maple syrup since I was making these for a vegan friend. For the fruit/nut component I chopped up in the food processor 1/2 cup of apricots, 1/2 cup dried cherries, and 1/2 cup of crystallized ginger. I also added 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. And I included the peanut butter which gave it that extra layer of divine goodness.

For the next round I'll try olive oil and honey and maybe almond butter. The possibilities are endless!

If you make these, let me know what you included.