Oat-less Granola Bars (Gluten Free)

I have a new GF friend who recently told me she cannot tolerate oats.  I know this is not uncommon.  She told me one thing she really really missed has been granola bars. Of course, she could buy GF oats, but they are so so expensive. So, i set out on a search for something that would be a good substitute. Thanks to “The Cinnamon Quill” I didn’t have to search long. She has just recently posted about granola bars without oats. I tried her recipe and it was a hit. I gave them to my friend who loved them! yay! I love when that happens. So if you miss granola bars, and can’t afford to spend $100 per bag of GF oats (OK OK! i know it’s not that much but it is a lot. 🙂  )  then give these a shot.

Oh yeah, these taste A LOT like the thick chewy granola bar recipe that i have already posted on here.  So if you have tried those, you will like these too.

And, again forgive my camera phone picture. 😦

Oat-less Granola Bars (Gluten Free)

*recipe from  The Cinnamon Quill

1 cup cereal, such as cornflakes or ‘Chex’
1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit and nuts in any combination
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons flaxmeal (ground flaxseed)
1/2 cup honey, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup
2 Tablespoons almond butter (or other butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (optional)

*Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350F.

1/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (optional) I left these out.

Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper.  In a food processor, combine all ingredients, until desired consistency has been reached. If you’d like larger pieces in your bars, pulse mixture a few times, then finish combining with a spatula.

Wet hands, then press mixture into prepared pan. The mixture will only cover about two-thirds of the pan. See a picture of this here.

Return pan to oven for 10-12 minutes more, or until they are starting to get more uniformly golden. This could take longer, depending what ingredients you used.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until mixture starts looking a bit golden. Remove from oven, then, using a very sharp knife, gently cut bars into desired size. This is more like just ’scoring’. I usually cut into about eight bars.

I did not score these like “Cinnamon Quill” did. I just left them in there until they were slightly browned (about 25-28 min), took them out, and then cut them once they had cooled for several hours. Worked fine.

Remove from oven, reinforcing any of the scoring, as needed.

Cool completely before removing; slice around each bar as you lift it from the pan.

Wrap each bar in plastic wrap/parchment/wax paper, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yields about 8 bars.