Tomorrow my son will be turning ten, and we spontaneously decided to make tonight his birthday dinner night. It worked out well, since I had scheduled baked salmon for dinner, which I usually save for light holiday meals or other special occasions. With it, we had hush puppies (everyone in the South knows what these are, but for the rest of you, they’re fried cornmeal dumplings), sauteed yellow summer squash, and then two special desserts. (We don’t usually have desserts for dinner.)
One of the desserts was cinnamon rolls, which I’ve shared the recipe for in the past (check the recipes link on the right if you want to see it). My kids were going to make brownies also, but I wanted something that even the child who doesn’t eat sugar could enjoy – it’s not fun watching everyone else eat delicious treats and not being able to have any. So I thought it would be a good time to try a new recipe, almond power bars. These were a big hit, they’re very healthy, easy to make, and they’re gluten free to boot! Believe it or not, we actually have all of the ingredients in our house all the time, so we didn’t need to run out for specialty ingredients to make this.
Almond Power Bars
- 2 c. almonds
- 1/2 c. flax seeds
- 1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 c. unsalted almond butter (we used peanut butter)
- 1/2 t. sea salt
- 1/2 c. coconut oil
- 1 T. honey
- 1 T. vanilla
Process the first five ingredients together in a food processor for about ten seconds. We used almond flour (already ground), and had plain flax seeds (which should be ground before being mixed into the other ingredients, otherwise they won’t grind finely), and used the same measurements called for above. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil, and add in the remaining ingredients. Add the oil mixture to the mixure in the food processor, and pulse until mixture forms a coarse paste. Press the mixture down in a 8 x 8 pan, and chill. These are very rich and candy-like.
Yield: 20 bars
Enjoy watching your children eat them, knowing that every bite contributes to their health!
Avivah
I cannot wait to try this recipe. Where did you find it? i am always looking for recipes like this one.
I wish I could tell you where I find my recipes, but it’s a combination of personal recommendations, cookbooks, discussion boards, and misc. searches. I found this one when I did a search for almond flour recipes, since I had gotten a lot of nut flours and was looking for ideas on how to use them. It really is a great recipe – and if you increase the amount of coconut oil (this was a lucky accident), it becomes more like a candy bar. Yum!!!
I’d love to try these, but I can’t eat flax seeds. If I simply omit them, will the consistency be the same, or should I increase the almonds or coconut to compensate?
Hi, Melissa,
I stopped adding the flax seeds after a while, and they came out just fine!