Energy Bars, GF

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, can be made Nut Free (from: http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreesnackrecipes/r/glutenfreeenergybars.htm)

ingredients

3/4 cup nut butter (almond OR cashew OR peanut OR sunflower butter)
3/4 cup sweetener syrup (honey OR GF brown rice syrup OR good quality Agave nectar)
1 1/2 cups roasted raw nuts and / or seeds (almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds- use your favorites in any combination)
1 cup unsulfured dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, pineapple, raisins)
4 cups GF brown rice crispy cereal (use Erewhon GF Rice Crispy Cereal)
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1
1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
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2. Place nuts and / or roasted seeds and dried fruit in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times, just until the mixture is coarsely ground.
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3. In a large saucepan melt nut butter with liquid sweetener over medium low heat. Stir and watch carefully to prevent scorching. When the mixture is smooth and bubbling cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add salt and vanilla and stir to combine. Use a large spatula to stir in nuts, dried fruit and cereal. Stir until all ingredients are coated with nut butter mixture.
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4. Scrape mixture on to the prepared baking sheet. Use the spatula to evenly spread the mixture on the pan. Place a large piece of waxed paper over the mixture and use a rolling pin to smooth the top of the mixture. Cover with the waxed paper and refrigerate for about 2 hours before cutting the energy bars into whatever sizes you prefer.
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5. Wrap bars in waxed paper and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
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6. Yield- About 16 -32 bars depending on how they are cut. I made 16 large bars by cutting the mixture in half lengthwise and then cutting each half into 8 pieces, about 1 1/2 inches wide.

notes

I used roasted sunflower seeds in place of nuts and sunbutter. Plus, I used puffed millet in place of brown rice crispy cereal. These were great! Update: added puffed amaranth, toasted coconut & flax seeds was good + decreased to 1/2 c nut butter/syrup

Source: GlutenFreeCooking.com