{Gluten Free} Mini Snack Bars

Hello All!!  Its been so long since I've posted that I hardly know what to start with! How about, Happy New Year! Its still technically the new year and I think its still allowed right? Since just before Christmas, things have been crazy around here with two boys in hockey,  a major holiday, school commitments, etc. Its sometimes hard to come up for air! So I apologize for my blog neglect, and I hope that this doesn't happen again (at least for a long time...).

I'm excited to share this amazing recipe! It happened because I messed up another recipe and didn't realize until I had half of the bars pressed into the Perfect Petites mould. So then I thought, rather than scoop it all out and start again, I'd just give it a go and see what the results would be. Well I'm thrilled to report.... they. are. DELICIOUS! And for a gluten free treat (especially a homemade one) no one else even noticed! They are the perfect consistency, kind of like a granola bar with a soft centre. How EXCITING!! So then I thought to myself, "YAY! Lunch treats!". Except then I thought to myself, "you DOPE! You put pecans in the recipe!". So I'm making the pecans optional and saying use either that or double the dried fruit for gluten free, nut free yumminess!

{Gluten Free} Mini Snack Bars


2 3/4 cups certified gluten free quick oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp milled flax seed
1 tsp Epicure's Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Epicure's Baking Powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp Epicure's Pure Vanilla
2/3 cup dried fruit (I used cherries)
2/3 cup chopped pecans (or substitute with extra dried fruit to make them nut free!.. or chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 c.

In a food processor, mill 1 cup of the quick oats until its a flour-like consistency. Mix in all other dry ingredients except the remaining oats. Once mixed evenly, add wet ingredients & stir well. Add remaining oats, dried fruit & pecans again mixing well.

Press mixture into Epicure's Perfect Petites pan (or use any silicone muffin moulds - fill only 1/3 full each cup). This recipe will yield approx 18 muffin sized treats or a full pan of Perfect Petites. There is no need to oil the silicone, but if you are using a regular muffin tin, lightly oil the pan.

Bake at 350 for 14-16 mins, until edges slightly brown. Allow some cooling time before removing from the pan.  

Enjoy!