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February 04, 2014

Mountain Bars - Gluten Free, Awesome, Addictive



Chomping on an energy bar at Healy Pass
I've been making this these Mountain bars since I adapted an energy bar recipe in 2009 from the Joy of Cooking.  They have come with Meghan and I on so many backcountry trips I can't keep track... Bugaboos, Assiniboine, Wapta, Egypt Lake, Fundy, Loch Alva and many more. There are a huge hit with everyone we travel with.

They are especially great in the winter - the cold keeps them from crumbling and yet they don't get rock hard like so many other bars do. They are packed with calories to keep your furnace burning on ski and climbing trips. I've tried many recipes and after find that these bars sit well in my stomach.  Just the right combination of fat, carbs, and proteins for quick and sustained energy.

They hold together pretty well (I recommend freezing them before cutting). For longer trips I wrap them individually in parchment paper and store in a ziploc bag (this also keeps us honest to our daily rations!). They don't last long around the house so better to make them just before the trip!





Ingrediants
  • 1 cup Rolled Oats (I use Only Oats because they are Gluten Free and delicious)
  • 3/4 cup Flour (*I make them Gluten Free* See note below)
  • 1 cup (packed) Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cup Dried Fruit (could be a mix of raisins, chopped apricots, cranberries)
  • 1 cup chopped Nuts/Seeds (In this order depending on what I have on hand- Almonds, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Buckwheat groats)


  • 3/4 C Melted Butter (Dairytown Butter if you can get it!)
  • 2 tsp Vanilla

Options:
Ginger Version is so good! 1/2 cup Chopped Crystallized Ginger  & 1 Tbsp Ginger Powder
1/2 cup chopped Milk Chocolate
*Gluten Free*: If you're making them Gluten Free like I do, then I would recommend GF Oats, standard featherlight flour (white rice, potato flour, and tapioca starch) and 1-2 tsp of ground Chia Seeds or 1/2 tsp Xanthum gum. 

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl (oats, flour, nuts, fruit, etc)

Melt Butter in Microwave/stove until liquid. Add Vanilla.

Now add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir together well.

Pour this sticky-gloppy mixture into a 9"x9" greased (buttered) cake pan.

Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes until top is browned. You'll see some butter bubbling around the edges.

Let cool/freeze before cutting to keep them from crumbling. Keep the extras in the freezer. They freeze well because there isn't any water in the recipe, just fat!


Sticky but not wet texture

Tamped down ready to bake
Bars on our ski camping trip to Skoki



 gluten free, energy bar, granola bar, camping, skiing, graham waugh, wapta, skoki, assiniboine,

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