Cranberry and Almond Puffed Wheat Bars

Hi Everyone,

It’s going to be a quick one today since it’s late, and I have been running behind all day.  I guess you can call it a typical Monday!  Today I have for you a recipe that was last-minute, yet I had the idea in the back of my mind for about a week.  These are my Cranberry and Almond Puffed Wheat Bars.

Last week I got my Nature Box and they had Cranberry Almond Bites in them, which is a puffed wheat snack with cranberry and almonds.  I LOVED them!!!  Then the next thing you know, I was out.  But the savvy me decided to keep the bag so I can check the ingredients out.  Well, with their ingredients and my pantry goods, I was able to create a puffed whole wheat bar that I think tastes even better!!!  They are made with Trader Joe’s Sweetened Puffed Wheat Cereal, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, brown rice syrup, a pinch of honey and cinnamon.  Oh man these babies are good!!!

My intention when making these, I was thinking rice crispy treats, but when I mixed it all together, they were pretty sticky, so I decided to bake them, like I would for granola bars.  That was the right thing to do.  These bars are light, crispy just like a rice cake, but WAY more flavor.  I did add a pinch of molasses and the cinnamon, oh the cinnamon really makes these bars stand out.  I’m pretty happy with the outcome and was so excited to share them with you!

If you’re a fan of rice cakes with a LOT of flavor, than these are the bars for you.  I can tell you I will make making them again, but maybe changing it up a bit, maybe a little maple syrup, some mini chocolate chips, oh the possibilities are endless.  What is also great is about these bars, are that they make for a nice snack and come in at only 85 calories for a decent size bar.  Yah!!

Cranberry and Almond Puffed Wheat Bars

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 16 Bars

• Serving size: 1 Bar

Prep time:  7 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  27 mins

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A light puffed wheat snack bar made with almonds, cranberries and cinnamon.

Ingredients

• 5 Cups Puffed Wheat Cereal (I used Trader Joe's Sweetened Puff Wheat Cereal)
• ½ cup almonds, slivered (I used raw, unsalted)
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ tsp. molasses
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar (I used NuNaturals Presweet Tagatose)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line a 9 x 9" square pan with parchment paper (so ends extend over edges of pan).
3. In a large bowl add puffed wheat cereal, almonds and cranberries; mix until combined.
4. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the brown rice syrup, honey, vanilla, molasses, salt and sugar, until sugar is melted.
5. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the dry ingredients, mixing well. Make sure everything is coated. Scoop the mixture into prepared baking pan and press down firmly with a back of a spoon (mixture will be sticky).
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
7. Remove pan from oven, press mixture down again with spoon until the bars are flat. Set bars aside until completely cooled.
8. Once cooled, take the bars out of the pan by grabbing the parchment paper. Remove the parchment paper and place bars onto a cutting board; with a sharp knife, cut into 16 slices.
9. I store mine in a ziplock bags at room temperature.

Notes

Calories per bar: 85, Fat: 1.9, Cholesterol: 0, Sodium: 80, Potassium: 1.1, Carbs: 16.6, Fiber: 1.3, Sugar: 7.9, Protein: 1.8

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This Saturday Marlene from Nosh My Way and I went to All in a Jar canning class in Lafayette, CA.  I had a blast!  Our chef Penny was awesome!  I never met someone so passionate about their work.  She was spunky and so out going, I just loved her!!   What’s even better is that she has fun at what she does.  She comes up with some crazy cooking concoctions and they turn out great!!  She has several classes coming up and I can’t wait to attend them!  This weeks class we made Tequila Hot Sauce Caliente and you know that is right up my alley!!  Yum!!  Plus we made Fennel and Sweet Onion Relish and Seriously Italian Onion and Rosemary Jam!  I can not wait to use them, so be prepared for some fun recipes. If your ever in the Bay Area, contact me and we can go together!!  I’m telling you, if you’re a canner or not, you will love this class.  Plus Penny had some pretty awesome snacks!  I filled my belly up and left very happy!!  Thanks Penny for a great class!  I look forward to attending again!!!

I also want to thank Marlene from Nosh My Way for going with me and taking these photos.  I forgot my camera and Marlene brought hers!

Well my Peeps, I am beat!  Time for bed!

Have a great day!  Wish me luck!  Back to the hair dressers to see if she can fix my hair!  Ugh!

Toodles,

Jennifer

P.S.  The winner of the KIND Bar Gift pack is:

Author: amylou61
Website: http://gravatar.com/amylou61
Comment: permalink – Sorry, I forgot to say the recipe i pinned was Homemade Nutella http://pinterest.com/pin/38632509275635025/

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