I am constantly in search of tasty wholesome snacks to eat on the go and in a world of pre-packaged convenience foods, I am too often disappointed. I almost always end up buying a cereal bar to curb my sugar cravings and with the hope it will fill me up more than chocolate. The problem here is the processed cereal bar is likely to be made with additives, preservatives and a little bit more sugar than I had bargained for so I somehow feel a bit cheated. The answer to my snacking dilemma? Make some!
Cashew crunch cereal bars are naturally gluten free, vegan and very easy to adapt to suit your own tastes. If you are looking for a cereal bar recipe that is packed with natural ingredients and easy to make, here it is!
Cashew Crunch Cereal Bars
Print ThisIngredients
- 75g cranberries
- 60g puffed rice cereal
- 45g dark chocolate
- 40g whole almonds
- 40g pumpkin seeds
- 30g cashew kernels
- 35g coconut oil or vegan butter
- 35g maple syrup
- 30g light brown soft sugar
- 15g oats
- 5g any small seeds such as linseed or sesame
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160*c and lightly grease a 10 x 6 baking tin and line with baking paper
1: Measure out the almonds and cashew kernels then roughly chop them into big chunky bits then place them in a large mixing bowl. Weigh out the cranberries and roughly chop into smaller pieces then add them to the nuts. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, stir to combine and set aside.
2: Put the sugar, coconut oil and maple syrup into a small saucepan then melt it slowly over a medium heat until no traces of sugar remain. Remove it from the heat and pour it over the dry ingredients and combine well. Now squash the mixture into the lined tin and press down hard all over, making sure it feels firm and looks fairly level.
3: Pop it into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes or until it is golden brown, make sure it doesn’t overcook as this will ruin the texture. Once it’s done remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Carefully remove from the tin peeling the paper off as you do, then cut into 14 pieces.
4: Melt the dark chocolate either in a bowl over simmering water or in short blasts in the microwave, briefly allow it to cool before drizzling all over the bars in whatever pattern takes your fancy. Once it’s all set you are ready to eat these little beauties anytime you need a snack packed with energy!
Notes
This recipe can be easily doubled if you want to make a mega batch and they will keep for several days in an airtight container.
