May 12, 2010

Humpastry Day - Cherry Energy Bars

Homemade Cherry Energy Bars:
A long time ago I got a recipe for homemade energy bars and always wanted to make them, but I never had the right ingredients around.  Well, I was digging through my recipe box wondering what to make for Humpastry day and I found the recipe!   I have recipes for different versions, but I'm kind of on a cherry kick right now and thought these sounded good!  They have similar ingredients to cliff bars, but they're not as big and not as mushed together (if you've had a cliff bar before you know what I mean).  Although I would more likely use these on my longer bike rides in place of cliff bars, I had one before a 40min. run today and didn't have any problems.  :)

Ingredients:
 Makes 12 bars **Note:  You could definitely double the recipe and make 24 bars in a 13x9" pan.  I just did 12 because I wanted to make sure I like them before I made 24 of them!  
*  1 1/4C rice cereal (like rice krispies)
*  1C uncooked rolled oats
*  3Tbl. ground flaxseed
*  1/4C chopped dried cherries
*  1/4C finely chopped almonds
*  1/4C brown rice syrup (can also use honey or maple syrup)
*  2Tbl. brown sugar
*  1/3C almond butter
*  1/4tsp. almond extract

Directions:
1.  Line an 8" square pan with wax paper and set aside.
2.  In a large bowl combine rice cereal, oats, flaxseed, cherries, and almonds
3.  In a small saucepan over med-high heat, bring the syrup and brown sugar to a boil, stirring constantly.
4.  Remove from  heat and add the almond butter and almond extract.  Stir until well blended.
5.  Pour the almond butter mixture over the cereal mixture, stirring until coated.  I used my hands to make sure it was well mixed.
6.  Press the mixture firmly into the 8" pan and let cool.  Once cooled, cut into 12 bars.

7.  Wrap the bars in plastic wrap (or put in snack size ziploc bags) and store in the refrigerator.
8.  Enjoy!

21 comments:

KC (my 140 point 6 mile journey) said...

That is a great recipe! And i don't spend much time in the kitchen, i would definitely try to make these. I have many of the ingredients too. Think about how much $ you save by making them yourself...i'm all about that. Thanks for posting this!

Teamarcia said...

Love these! I'm totally on a cherry kick too. Plus I need something to occupy all the spare time I'm gonna have now that I've given up chocolate covered fruits/nuts. I'm really digging humpastry day! : )
Is there a benefit to using brown rice syrup? Lower glycemic index?

justme said...

oh i totally want to try these .....

AM! said...

these look rockin! I wanna try these out. make sure this stays under your recipe label!

Missy said...

These look great, a little like colon blow but tasty;)

cheryl said...

I am going to try these!

Unknown said...

those look awesome! I will steal this from you. oh, and love that you buy great value brand, as well. haha.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I tried my own little Wednesday Humpstry and made Lara Bars (and I was surprised how easy and good they tasted), then you brought this!!! These sounds soooooo much better then mine!! I want to try to make these too, buying them get pricey, and we know we consume, or at I consume alot of them, I might as well make them myself. Save myself some money.

Caratunk Girl said...

YEAH Humpastry Day!! YUM!! These sound so awesome! On my list to make tonight.

ShutUpandRun said...

These look good! How did they taste?

Regina said...

I am so making these for my ride on Saturday!! Like Big Daddy,I've made homemade Lara Bars in various forms, but I love the idea of these too with the rolled oats in them, yum!!!

Aimee said...

Teammarcia: Brown rice syrup is a good alternative to other sweeteners because the glucose component dissolves easily into the bloodstream, and the maltose and complex carb components take longer to digest thus providing a steady supply of energy.

Shutupandrun: Yes, they actually taste really good! My husband had one last night to try and had to stop himself from eating another one! Ha ha.

As a side note, I had one this morning before my Masters Swim class and I felt fueled during the whole workout. :)

Julie said...

These bars look so good:) Keep the recipes coming Aimee!

teacherwoman said...

Mmm, these sound yummy. Similar to one's I have made via a recipe from blogland, but a little different! I might have to try these!

Chef Amber Shea said...

Looks great! Cherry and almond are always a great combo.
Funny enough, I'm posting an energy bar recipe of my own tomorrow!

Michelle Simmons said...

Yum! Those look good! Might have to try them. Clif bars get old, ya know? ;)

triblog carol said...

Thanks for chekcing out my blog. I love your bike - I have that bike, too :-) And awesomely fast 5k time!

Maggs said...

Those bars looks soo good. I'm going to make some soon.

Kevin said...

I will need to try this recipe. I just made some up using a variation of Alton Brown's recipe that were pretty good.

See here
http://halftriing.blogspot.com/2010/09/homemade-granola-bars-good-eats.html

-Kevin

Kevin said...

I tried this recipe last night. How did you get them to stick together? Mine just fell apart into loose granola. :-( I I pressed it down hard and let it cool completely.

Kevin
http://halftriing.blogspot.com/

Heather said...

I'm browsing your recipes and they all look really good. I want to try this one sometime, it sounds yummy and looks good.