#rice crispy treats

Toasted Quinoa Honey Crunch Bars

This is an amazingly crispy, delectable, healthy treat and successful cooking experiment. This is as easy as making rice crispy treats, but it’s made with ingredients that are more textured, nutrition packed and good for you. Even the sweet gooey part that brings it all together is made from organic, non gmo ingredients and no white sugar. This is also gluten free and vegan, but I’m not always. I can’t wait to try a similar one with dark chocolate chips. 

So, as far as the experiment part goes, this recipe is based on a recipe from another blogger, Erin at Well Plated. I didn’t have all the ingredients she used. She said you can use quinoa instead of millet, so I thought I could use Canahua too, since they’re similar. I happened to have both, thanks to my friend Lyndsy Kail who gives me ingredients from her organic import co., Edison Grainery to cook with. Lyndsy is the first person to mention this type of healthy, rice crispy treat to me. I’m glad I finally tried it. I’m going to make it all the time now, my husband loves it. 

 I think the most important experimental addition to this, as far as flavor and texture, was the coconut oil. It’s a good for you fat, helps all of your cells in some way or another, supposedly, especially your brains. Brains! We all need more brains. Please look it up. My Sister, Kris Cahill told me about it, and she’s very smart and all about health, so it’s true. When you whip the coconut oil, honey, peanut butter, cinnamon, & vanilla, it becomes this fluffy, delicious, best frosting you’ve ever had in your life. Oy my gosh, it’s so good. There are fat and calories involved, so maybe don’t eat a whole bowl in one sitting. The original recipe says to melt everything in a saucepan, but I just whipped it up. When the nuts and grains come out of the oven, they’re still hot, so the coconut oil / honey mixture melts into it easily. It was a warm day when I made this, and the coconut oil was soft, it solidifies at cooler temps. So if it’s cold where you live, you might need to put the jar of coconut oil near the back of the stove while the grains toast. By adding another fat, along with the peanut butter, it gives it a delectable taste. As for the grains and crunch, there’s definitely room for experimentation here. You can use any kind of oatmeal, grains, nuts & dried fruit you have. I used black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and almonds because thats what I had. I was a bit skeptical toasting the dry quinoa and canahua. I’ve only ever cooked quinoa in broth or water. I thought toasting would make it rock hard, like teeny pebbles, but it gives it a crispy texture and roasty flavor. 

Here’s how to make these;

Toasted Quinoa Honey Crunch Bars

Heat oven to 350. On a dry cookie sheet, toast 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal, ½ cup uncooked canahua, ¼ cup uncooked quinoa, ½ to ¾ cup nuts, I used ½ cup almonds, a tablespoon of organic black sesame seeds, and ½ cup sunflower seeds. Toast until golden and fragrant, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile mix ½ to ¾ cup honey, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, ½ cup peanut butter, 1 tsp organic vanilla, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a pinch of pink Himalayan salt, or any salt. (A little salt brings up the sweetness and flavor of all the ingredients.) Whisk until creamy. Add 3 tbsp dried cranberries, 5 or 6 chopped dried apricots. Once the grains and oatmeal come out of the oven, add to a bowl, and use a spatula to get the creamy peanut butter mixture in and combine everything. Press into a baking dish, lightly coated with coconut oil. Cover with parchment paper and press the bars down until they’re firm. Cover and refrigerate until it sets up, about 20 minutes to an hour. Yum!