Name: Pistachio & Tart Cherry Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: -
Ingredients: 1 Cup roasted pistachios; Cup pumpkin seeds; Cup sunflower seeds; 1/3 Cup dried tart cherries; Cup unsweetened coconut flakes; 2 Tsp. Salt; 1 Tsp. Pure vanilla extract; 4 Tbsp. Honey; 1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil; 1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil; Cooking Spray

YIELDS:

8 servings

PREP TIME:

0 hours 10 mins

COOK TIME:

0 hours 45 mins

TOTAL TIME:

0 hours 55 mins

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ingredients

1 Cup roasted pistachios

½ Cup pumpkin seeds

½ Cup sunflower seeds

1/3 Cup dried tart cherries

1 Cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Pure vanilla extract

1/2 Tsp. Coconut extract

4 Tbsp. Brown Rice Syrup

1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil

Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.

3. Chop ½ cup pistachios. (Leave the other ½ cup whole)

4. In a medium-size bowl combine the nuts and seeds along with the coconut, cherries and salt.

5. Add the vanilla extract (I use Tahitian Vanilla), coconut extract, rice syrup and the coconut oil and stir until well combined.

6. Pour mixture into the lined baking dish and press it down firmly with a metal spoon until everything is compressed together and you have an even layer.

7. Bake for about 40 – 45 minutes until fragrant and the mixture is set.

8. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Press the metal spoon on the mixture again and allow it to cool completely.

9. Using the parchment paper ends, lift the firm square from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Using a large knife cut in half down the middle then cut each half into 4 even bars.

NOTE: After playing with all kinds of nuts, seeds and dried fruit combinations, this wound up being my favorite. I started the project of finding the “perfect snack bar” for my brother who can be demanding! (especially when it comes to his snacks) He really likes coconut so I wound up adding a lot more coconut and using the coconut extract to really up the coconut taste. It worked. I found this coconut extract at Amazon and it really did the trick. You can buy it here: Watkins Coconut Extract. I also had to make a couple of adjustments to the amount of salt I used and the sweetner I finally chose. I had read that Brown Rice Syrup was a great sweetener but I had never used it before. Since I usually had honey in the house, that was my sweetener of choice. This time, I decided to try the syrup and what a pleasant surprise. First, I really liked the taste. Second, it held the bar together much better than the honey did. So, that is what finally made it into this recipe. I had a hard time finding the Brown Rice Syrup at my grocery store but did find it at Amazon. This is definitely worth a try. It is easy to pull together with the right ingredients and you know exactly what you are going to get in your bar. Enjoy.

Pistachio & Tart Cherry Bars

ingredients

DIRECTIONS

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