Epic Peanut Butter Granola Bars for renegades and rebel bakers

Anyone who doesn't understand the importance of salt to bring sweetness to life will probably hate everything I make. I hold nothing against you, if salt in a sweet food just isn't your jam. I know that you are out there -- and judging by the desserts I've had at high end restaurants that were bland and simply sweet and flavourless to my palate, I may indeed be the renegade that nobody speaks about in polite company.  

The right salt makes all the difference. That is to say, refined 'table salt' doesn't do your body any good, and doesn't do flavour much good. Himalayan salt, or any other simple earth salt will usually do the trick. I don't get fancy with it. Remember when we all used to be all about the sea salt? Unfortunately, because of the high concentration of minute plastic particulate in the oceans, sea salt has become a bit of a  risky proposition. 

This is my long winded way of saying that these granola bars are absolutely epic, but inadequate salt will be their downfall. In my opinion, any dessert or snack that involves peanut or almond butter will absolutely beg for a little salt. 

I grew up in a house that eschewed salt under the umbrella of health-consciousness. I was once made to feel like a sinner for attempting to sprinkle a couple grains of table salt on a slice of cucumber. However, rest assured, renegade bakers, earth salt will not cause you the problems associated with refined salt. I do urge you to use it as an enhancer, not as a flavour on its own, but I don't think you need to be shy. Other things also bump up flavour -- a shot of acid (in this case, apple cider vinegar) some other layers of mystery and nuance (hello, tonka bean powder, vanilla, cinnamon). But without our old friend NACL, even these tricks will fall flat. 

Toasting the oats, and then the coconut, before combining ingredients will elevate these little bars, and the combination of ingredients give them a bit of a caramel hit. My partner is a pretty big fan, and finds them to be a very satisfying snack when he needs something to keep him going. 

Finally, use the highest quality raw ingredients you can -- these will still be loads more economical than any box of granola bars you can buy.

equipment needed:

whisk

mixing spoon

mixing bowls

scraper

measuring spoons

measuring cups

square silicone pan or glass/metal pan lined with baking parchment

a square of baking parchment (used when pressing the concoction into the pan)

microwave (or use a double boiler on the stove if you prefer)

microwave safe bowl (I use a pyrex measuring cup)

spatula or other dull edge

ingredients:

A)

1/2 cup coconut nectar

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I used crunchy, the organic one made by Nuts To You because it's awesome)

1 tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

20 g cocoa butter (I have cocoa butter pastilles that I can melt to use in baking and confection. Pastilles or chips will be easier to use than large chunks just fyi)

B)

1 1/4 cup oat flakes

1 1/4 cup fine desiccated coconut (unsweetened)

2 tbsp date powder

1/2 tsp himalayan salt

1/2 tsp tonka bean powder

C)

1/2 cup dry roasted, salted peanuts (I buy blanched organic peanuts,  toss them with water and himalayan salt, and then oven roast them on a low temperature, often further dehydrating them overnight on the lowest temperature in the oven)

directions:

1. in a large skillet on the stove, dry toast the oat flakes until lightly browned, and then remove to a large bowl.

2. dry toast the coconut in the skillet until lightly brown. This will happen very quickly so don't take your eyes off it. Add to the large bowl

3. add the date powder and salt, mix well, and set aside.

4. In a microwave safe dish, combine the ingredients from part A, and heat them in the microwave until they can be easily whisked together. Mix really well.

5. pour the part A concoction over the part B melange in the big bowl, and mix well.

6. finally, add the roasted peanuts, and stir them in.

7. press the resulting mixture into your square pan -- I use silicone because it's very easy to work with. If you prefer pyrex or metal, please make sure you remember to like it with baking parchment!!

8. cover the mixture in the pan with a piece of parchment so you can press it down really well. I sometimes also use an extra silicone mat for this step. That works too.

9. once the mixture has been pressed down and looks tidy and flat, you can score bars using a dull edge like a spatula. You don't want to cut through the parchment or cut the silicone mat.

10. allow to fully cool, then chill (i flash chill in the freezer)

11. when chilled, remove from pan and break apart along score lines. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Pain au Chocolat -- the gluten free, whole foods, plant based version

The intersection of bread and chocolate.

I live with two people for whom both bread and chocolate hold special and exalted places in their palates and in their diets. That is to say, neither of them ever gets tired of these goodies. I thought, why not combine the two? Especially right now, everyone is showing off their COVID bread, and here we are, all sad and gluten-free. I figured it was time to kick it up a notch. Enter, the pain au chocolat, or what we could call the best of both worlds.

I decided to take a fairly typical but soft gluten free bread dough, sweeten it a little extra with coconut sugar, roll it out flat, sprinkle it with goodies, cut it into long triangles, and roll them individually.

I wanted these buns to be more like bread than pastry, but next time I may enrich them with coconut milk, coconut butter, or some avocado oil just to see what happens. People who enjoy butter on their bread may enjoy more richness in their bread. Still, they were very well received, and make a satisfying Sunday morning nosh with a cup of tea.

roll your dough out into a nice big rectangle! I roll it out on a jumbo silicone mat, but I also use plenty of flour underneath and on top to keep it from sticking to the mat, and to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin

brush the rolled out dough with coconut nectar -- about 1/4 cup. No coconut nectar? No problem. What  do you have in the way of liquid sweeteners? Rice syrup?

sprinkled the dough 'evenly' with your mixture of date sugar, kinako, and salt

fair trade, organic chocolate. Only have chunks? no problem.

grab a big knife and chop your chunks up!

evenly distribute the chopped up chocolate over the whole surface

cut the dough using something that won't damage the surface you are working on!  Triangles please!!

roll the dough triangles starting at the wide end, and finishing at the narrow end, so the inside part is the widest part

put the rolls with the end face down on your silicone mat-lined tray. No silicone mat? No problem! You can use baking parchment. No parchment? Please use plenty of coconut oil and flour on that pan so your buns don't stick.

let 'em rise

rise for a couple hours, maybe

fresh out of the oven. Can you smell them? So good.

hello I'm a super cute chocolate roll. Won't you be tempted by me?

how about now???

mmmmm ....

full of chocolate goodness

equipment needed:

whisk
mixing spoon
measuring cups
measuring spoons
mixing bowls
kettle or other way to heat up water
oven
baking sheet
baking mat or parchment
dull edged tool for cutting dough into long triangles (like a pastry cutter or a plastic spatula)
large counter surface for rolling out dough
large silicone mat for rolling dough on (optional)
spoon for sprinkling ingredients
brush for brushing coconut nectar
timer
rolling pin


ingredients:

A)
1 1/2 cups warm water (or plant based milk for extra richness)
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp vanilla
(1/4 cup coconut butter -- optional)

B)
1 tsp himalayan salt
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp tonka bean powder (optional)

(1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar)

C)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup soy milk powder
1/2 cup cassava flour (or tapioca starch if you don't have cassava flour)
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup oat flour

D)
1/4 cup coconut nectar (or other liquid sweetener of your choice)

E)
1/4 cup date sugar
1-3 tbsp kinako (roasted soybean powder) (optional)
1/16th - 1/8th tsp salt

F)
1 cup chocolate (I use fair-trade, organic dark chocolate chunks, and chop them into bits with a big knife). You can also use chocolate chips if you like!)


directions:

1) combine A, and set aside to proof
2) in a large bowl, combine B and C. I like to use a whisk (gently) to make sure these dry ingredients are all perfectly combine
3) once the yeast mixture has foamed, pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix well
4) once out your dough has successfully formed, turn it out onto a well floured surface (I use a large silicone mat on my kitchen counter, but that's not necessary)
5) roll out the dough (with enough flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking!) Try to make a nice big rectangular shape.
6) brush the dough with your coconut nectar
7) combine the ingredients from E and sprinkle all of it on the dough
8) chop your chocolate if necessary, and distribute evenly on the dough
9) cut the dough into long triangles. I got 9 (That was entirely random. If you cut rectangle in half half length wise, you  can make smaller roll ups -- approximately 20)
10) starting at the wide end of each triangle, roll the pieces of dough up (try to roll tightly, but handle them with care), and put them with the end face down on a lined baking sheet (I like silicone mats for lining my trays, but some people prefer parchment)
11) let them rise!
12) be patient
13) bake at 345 for around 40 minutes, depending on how big they are. (for little ones, bake for 30)
14) cool for at least 10 minutes before serving

ready to bake

baked for about 40 minutes

a cute pain au chocolat

imperfection is perfection

Breakfast Cookies -- a customizable, grabble, gluten-free, plant-based quick-meal

I don't personally think breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, I've never been a breakfast person, so there you have my implicit bias. My kid used to love breakfast, and often also second breakfast. He was all about that first meal of the day. Even just the thought of breakfast used to make him happy. These days, I think he's gearing up to be a teenager because he's become much less interested in eating in the morning, and often will just have a small scoop of peanut butter and call it done. Eating is one of those things that's both highly personal, but also shared by everyone, so it's hard not to be affected by other people's opinions about what one should do. As my old voice teacher said "You do you. I'll be over there in the corner sweeping." I've always liked to let my kid direct his own eating as much as possible, schedules not withstanding, because I had always taught him to listen to his body, and take care of it based on what it told him he needed. For some people, breakfast happens when you wake up. For others, the first meal of the day is noon or later.  But I do think, regardless of what time of day you eat any meal, sometimes it needs to be really really fast, or really really easy to take with you.

I wanted to make a breakfast food that was portable, compact, nut-free, and nutrient dense. Oh -- and, of course, delicious. That, along with nutritious, is the other non-negotiable. I am forecasting broad appeal for these breakfast cookies. A combination of gluten-free oat bran and sunflower seed flour provides a wholesome base, and then plenty of tasty mix-ins to jazz it up. The mix-ins are customizable, so you can use whatever suits your fancy.

I say breakfast, but these are a great trail snack for hiking, post workout-refuel, or anytime you need to stoke your engines with nutrient dense, wholesome goodness.

They are sweetened with a little coconut nectar, which is from the flowers of the coconut palm. Coconut nectar is very low on the glycemic index, high in minerals, and has a pleasant fruity sweetness that is neither cloying nor overpowering. There is also just a bit of date sugar in them -- literally ground up dates -- which is also full of minerals, and also fibre. The balance of fats and proteins in these cookies mean that even with a little bit of sweetness, they won't spike your blood sugar, and will definitely satisfy your need for fuel, as well as your hunger for something very tasty.

equipment needed:

measuring spoons

measuring cups

mixing bowls 

mixing spoons

whisk

kettle (for heating water)

2 cookie baking sheets

2 silicone baking mats or baking parchment

oven

pan for toasting coconut and pumpkin seeds on the stove top

4 tbsp cookie dough scoop

rubber/silicone scraper

oven mitts

fork

cup of water

2 cooling racks

metal spatula

ingredients needed:

A)

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup coconut butter (or any nut butter if you don't need these to be nut free!! I've used almond butter for these and they were very successful)

1/2 cup coconut nectar 

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

B)

1/4 cup date sugar

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds ground into flour (I ground my raw sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder until they were a fine powder) (You can substitute almond flour if you don't need these to be nut free!)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp himalayan salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp ground tonka bean (optional)

C)

mix-ins 

2/3 cup desiccated coconut, toasted in a pan on the stove top until nicely light brown

2/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds, toasted in a pan on the stove top

1/3 cup dried cranberries (I use the apple-juice sweetened ones)

1/3 cup seedless raisins

2/3 cup hemp hearts

1 cup fair-trade dark chocolate chips/chunks

... or whatever you like!

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345

2. line your 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone. I love silicone mats, and use them almost exclusively. They last forever.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients from A, and set aside

4. In another mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients from B, and mix very well

5. using a whisk, stir the contents first mixing bowl until completely mixed

6. add the ingredients from the second bowl into the first bowl, and mix very well with a spoon

7. once the 2 bowls have been successfully combined, add the mix-ins and stir well

8. scoop the cookie dough using the 4 tbsp scoop, placing 12 scoops per baking sheet, at regular intervals (usually 3x4). You should have 2 sheets of 12 each.

9. using a fork dipped in a cup of water, flatten the cookies into a pleasing thickness and nice round shape

10. bake at 345 for 24 minutes. Swap the top and bottom tray positions with each other half way through, at the 12 minute mark.

11. remove the cookie sheets from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a while

12. When they are cool, you can remove the cookies from the baking sheets using a metal spatula

store in an airtight container

share with friends

enjoy

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola Bars

Granola bars are one of those things I hate buying. The reasons are three: 1) the ingredients that are put into commercial granola bars 2) the cost of commercial granola bars 3) how easy it is to make them at home. I'd rather buy things that I can't easily make myself. The truth is, granola bars are dead easy to make, and when you do make them, you can choose the ingredients you wish to include. 

This recipe that I came up with  calls for peanut butter and chocolate -- which is not school friendly. I have made them with coconut butter instead of peanut butter, and they were well received. But here's that classic pb and c flavour combo, and since chocolate is way too melty in the summer heat, I definitely think of these as an enjoy at home snack, anyway. Definitely not for school.

I've made these without the chocolate mix in, and with coconut butter and hemp hearts instead of peanut butter, with chocolate drizzled on top. yummy. What I'm trying to say, don't be afraid to customize, if that's your jam. 

I toast the oats and coconut before mixing the ingredients together. This is because I prefer both the taste and texture of toasted oats and coconut in the this particular context. However, if you prefer raw, you do you.

The recipe calls for an entire cup of high quality dark chocolate, and makes 24 bars. Chocolate is laden with minerals, protein, fibre, and fat, as well as epic deliciousness. Thanks to the peanut butter, coconut oil, and shredded coconut, these bars are a good source of snack-worthy fat and protein, and are definitely a very satisfying nibble when you need one.

equipment needed:

frying pan

stove

spoon

mixing bowls

mixing spoon

measuring cups

measuring spoons

9x9 inch silicone pan (or a glass one lined with parchment)

metal or plastic spatula with fine edge for cutting the bars

ingredients:

A)

1 cup small flake oats 

1 cup fine coconut flakes or desiccated coconut

B)

5 tbsp natural peanut butter (we used crunchy)

5 tbsp coconut nectar

1 tbsp coconut oil

C)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp mountain salt (if your PB is unsalted, you may want to add an extra pinch)

D)

2 tbsp date sugar

E)

1 cup chocolate chips (dark, fair trade) (or if you have something bigger like chunks or morsels, you can also chop ‘em up roughly with a knife)

directions:

1. toast the ingredients from part A. For this, I use a dry frying pan on a moderate heat, stirring frequently and paying close attention because I don't want it to get too brown. You could also toast in the oven or toaster oven, but watch it carefully to make sure it's not getting over done. I highly recommend toasting them separately, because oats take much much longer than coconut to toast.

2. I use a glass measuring cup for this next part: combine the ingredients from B) and heat them until they can be mixed easily with a fork. I use the microwave for this. (Don't over heat). If you want to use a double boiler or a pot on the stove, that would work too. Don't let it burn and don't over-heat. You don't want your PB to seize. If you don't know what I mean by that, trust me, you don't want it to happen.

3. when B) is mixed well, add C) and stir well.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine the toasted ingredients from A) wth D). This is best when the ingredients are still warm. Stir well.

5. pour the mixture  of B and C over the toasted ingredients and stir well (I like doing this with a fork)

6. when fully combine, and whilst it is still slightly warm, stir in E). Because it is warm, the chocolate will partially melt. Do not worry. This is a good good thing.

7. When fully combine, press the mixture into your 9x9 silicone pan. (or a glass 9x9 pan lined with parchment. Trust me on the parchment). Flatten and smooth it into the pan using a silicone scraper or by covering it with a piece of parchment and pressing with your hands. 

8. When flattened and pressed, use the edge of a plastic spatula (or blunt metal edge) to cut the mixture into bars. I did 8x3, resulting in 24 bars. Put the pan into the fridge (or freezer if you are impatient) to chill.)

9. When fully chilled, remove from the pan, fully separate the bars, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Vanilla Custard Tarts -- little Pi Day treats from my gluten-free, plant-based kitchen

Pi Day is a distant memory at this point, but the delicious tarts we came up with on the fly at the last minute still haunt my mind like a friendly ghost. At 12:30 my kid said: "What about pie? Are we having pie? I said: "Oh. You want pie?" The answer of course was yes, and when I asked what kind, the answer was 'custard pie'. Not that we've ever had custard pie, but a small detail like that has never stopped my kid before. I suggested in lieu of big pie, we try tarts, and an agreement was achieved. We thought it would be fun to eat our pie on pi day at exactly 1:59 in the afternoon, so that left us almost 90 minutes to conceive a recipe, gather our ingredients, create our concoction, and have it ready in time for the fateful, nerdiest minute of pie day. (Since of course I was not going to participate in pie or pi at 1:59 in the morning). The good news is this prepped up in very little time, and because these little tarts are quite petite, there was enough time for them to cool down and fully set as well.

Bonus points for being amazingly delicious!!

vanilla custard tarts — vegan, gluten free

equipment needed:

-grinder (I used it to grind oat flakes into a very fine flour because I didn't have oat flour)

-6 silicone muffin cups and a baking sheet (if you have small tart pans, you can use those instead)

-measuring spoons

-measuring cups

-mixing bowl

-fork

-stove

-small pot

-whisk

ingredients:

crust:

A)

1/4 cup almond flour

6 tbsp oat flour

1/8 tsp sea salt

B)

1 1/4 tbsp coconut oil

C

1 1/2 tsp agave (or other liquid sweetener of your choice)

filling:

D)

1 cup water + 2 tbsp

1 tsp vanilla extract

5tbsp agave or other liquid sweetener of your choice

E)

4 tbsp soy milk powder

2 tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp agar agar powder

pinch of turmeric (optional just for appealing colour)

1/4 + tsp sea salt

directions:

crust:

preheat the oven to 345

1. Combine the ingredients from A) until well mixed
2. add B) and mix well with a fork
3. add C) and mix in well with a fork
4. divide the resulting mixture between 8 or 9  silicone muffin cups, and press down to form crusts (I kept the mixutre in the bottom only, and didn’t take it up the sides)
5. bake for 7 to 10 minutes

filling:

1. in a small pot, combine D)
2. combine  E) in a small bowl, then add to D), and whisk together before heating
3. heat, whisking all the while
4. stir on a low gentle simmering boil until fully thickened and glossy
5. when tart crusts are out of the oven, divide the filling equally among all of them
6. allow to cool fully before removing from the silicone moulds and eating.
7. left overs can be stored in the silicone moulds in an airtight container in the fridge