You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet for the past few days.
I do actually have a good excuse, though!
The hubby and I have been busy trekking across the country to visit my family. Thankfully, we managed to make it all in one piece. Actually, make that two can’t-wait-to-get-out-of-the-car pieces!
We may have been dealing with a mild case of claustrophobia, but you better believe we didn’t go hungry! In fact, I learned early in my life to always have a healthy snack with me, just in case.
You see, when I get hungry, I get cranky.
And that never ends pretty.
So, I knew that I would need lots of snacks to have along with me on the road. I had tons of fresh fruit…but that can only take you so far…
I’ve always been a big fan of Larabars due to their use of simple, REAL food ingredients. However, my wallet is not always a fan.
Naturally, I decided to try making my own! After all, the ingredients are pretty simple. Now, you may notice that most Larabars call for dates. I love dates, but I was out of them…so I decided to improvise with raisins.
I am so, so glad that I did!
For one thing, they really do taste just like oatmeal raisin cookies, which have always held a special place in my heart.
Secondly, they are ultra-portable, so they are great to have around when on-the-go.
Plus, they are so stinkin’ easy to make!! Seriously. It takes mere minutes.
OH, and they are sweetened only with the goodness of raisins and have never set foot in a factory. You can’t say that about the other snack bars out there!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars
(Yields about 7 bars)
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup rolled oats (you can also use quinoa flakes, if you prefer)
- 1 cup raw almonds, walnuts, or pecans
- 1 cup raisins
- Pinch or two of sea salt, according to taste
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Place the rolled oats in a food processor and process until the oats are ground almost into a flour.
Add all of the remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until the almonds are chopped and everything is well-combined.
Divide the mixture into seven equal portions. Place each portion in between two pieces of plastic wrap, or inside a zip-top sandwich bag and then use your hand to shape it into a bar. Of course, you can form these into whatever shapes you want…stars, hearts, you name it! Or, you can always just eat it right off the spoon…a personal favorite of mine. 😉
These delicious babies can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks (although we never manage to keep them that long around here!), or you can even freeze them!
*This recipe was featured on Frugally Sustainable! 🙂
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This is great timing! Our son wants to visit colleges out west, which are fewer and farther between than here in the north east. My husband suggested that we might do that via a round the country train trip, combining the college visits with vacation stops along the way. I think these will find their way with us on that train trip!
Wow! What an exciting trip, Moira! There are SO many things to see along the way; I’m sure it will be hard to pick which stops to make! One of the best road trips I’ve ever taken was down the California coast. If you get a chance to explore that area, I definitely recommend it.
I’m working on perfecting a German Chocolate flavor, too, so stay tuned! Hopefully, I will have it posted in time for your trip! 🙂
I followed the instructions but my mixture came out rather dry.mits crumbly and won’t form into a bar. Any ideas? I may try Adding some honey to get this batch to stick. Any tips would be great. Thanks!
I’m so sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your first batch!! Sometimes factors like altitude and humidity can change the way a recipe works.
I would try adding some more raisins; the gooeyness of the raisins is really what binds everything together. Are you pressing the mixture between plastic when shaping them into bars? I put mine in zip-top baggies when shaping them, and that works really well!
My first batch turned out so well and went so easily, I hate to hear that you’re having trouble! Let me know if adding the extra raisins helps!!
Will the consistency be ok without the nuts? i’d love to make these for my 18 month old, but we haven’t given him nuts yet….
Hi Rachel! I haven’t tried them without nuts myself, but I think the consistency should still work.
You may want to try it with a bit less raisins, since you won’t have as much to bind together. Or, alternatively, you could keep the raisins and add a bit more oats.
You could also replace the nuts with cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips, too. Of course, I don’t know if your little one would be quite ready for that yet, either!
I would probably try the recipe as is and just omit the nuts; then you can always add a bit more raisins to the mixture if it’s too dry, or a bit more oats if it’s too gooey.
Let me know how it turns out or if you have any other questions! 🙂
Delish! I added a little honey and blackstrap (both my daughter and I suffer from sweet-toothitis :o) and a few extra raisins. This will be a frequently used recipe. Thank you!
I’m SO happy to hear you and your daughter love them! I’m sure the honey and molasses added a delicious touch! I may have to try that next time. 🙂
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