This is probably one of the healthiest recipes you’ll ever see me write. I’m not a fan of granola, but I suppose this comes quite close to it! Whisk Bakeshop serves a popular gluten-free thumbprint cookie similar to this recipe. The cookie seemed so similar to granola that I never bothered to taste it, owner Kaylen Wissinger offered me a bite.
I was hooked. It was nutty around the edges, and the center held the best-tasting raspberry jam that nicely complemented the rest of the cookie. Even more impressive, it was only sweetened with maple syrup and was both vegan and gluten-free.
I decided to make my own adaptation in bar form – mostly out of laziness and convenience. I added pecan flour to vary the nut flavors a bit, but I didn’t bother making it gluten-free. Instead, I used white, whole-wheat flour and included oats. I chose raspberry, but you can make this with any jam you’d like.
I’ve made these twice in the last month, and they’re delicious. I store them in my cookie jar and snack on them almost daily. They’re a great alternative to feed a sweet, sugar craving if you need a break from that sort of thing. Not that you would.
Enjoy and happy baking!
Nutty Bars Adapted from a Whole Foods recipe 1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup pecan flour (Replace with almond flour or another finely ground nut, if desired.)
1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup white or whole-wheat flour
1 cup oats
½ cup coconut oil (Canola or grapeseed oil also can be used.)
½ cup maple syrup
¼ tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. raspberry jam
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-by-8-inch pan well.
• In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the jam until well combined. Reserve 1/3 cup of batter.
• Pour the remaining batter into the pan, spreading to the edges. Spoon the jam over the top of the batter, evenly covering it. Top with the remaining batter, smoothing it evenly over the jam.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until firm around the edges and golden brown (The top should be dry to the touch.).
• Let cool completely, and then cut into squares. Store between layers of waxed paper up to two weeks.
Note: Pecan flour can be purchased at nuts.com
This article appears in July 2013.
