This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, who is always trying out new, healthy snacks! I tried this once and was totally hooked!! I love these bars!
They are great for travel, great as gifts, are really tasty and very easy to make! They're also addictive, so eat in moderation! Don't say I didn't warn you! Let's get cooking!
Crunchy Vegan Nut Bar Recipe Cooking Time: 30 Minutes (Approx)
Makes 20-25 1" Squares
INGREDIENTS
1/4 Cup Each of Salted Peanuts, Raw Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts, Mixed Seeds, Oats, Coconut Flakes
1 TBSP Gundar (Kibble Gum)
1 tsp Coconut Oil (optional)
1/2 Cup Gur / Jaggery or more e, if needed
2 TBSP Peanut Butter (optional)
A pinch of Spices (For example Ginger Powder, Cinnamon Powder, Cardamom Powder)
OTHER OPTIONS: Pecans, Pistachios, Rice Crispies, CornFlakes, Chocolate, Raisins, Dried Cranberries, etc.)
METHOD
Chop the selected nuts into small pieces. The finer you chop the nuts, the less binding agent you need.
Place the chopped nuts in a separate bowl to any seeds, coconut & oats used, as these are finer particles and will toast faster.
Heat up a non-stick frying pan on a medium-low heat and dry roast the nuts until they are heated through. Remove them to a bowl, then toast the seeds in the same way. You should end up with about 2 Cups of roasted nuts and seeds total.
In a microwave-safe bowl, place the Kibble Gum (Gundar) and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Mix and repeat the process one more time until the Kibble Gum has expanded. Let them cool. Then break up the popped kernels. with your hand and mix with the roasted nuts and seeds.
Prepare a small tray with some parchment paper in it to place the hot nut mixture when it’s ready. Keep it on the side.
In the same frying pan used to roast the nuts, melt the Coconut Oil. Then add 1/2 cup Gor/Jaggery and melt it completely, but make sure it doesn’t burn.
Once melted, add the flavourings of your choice such as ginger powder, cinnamon powder, cardamom powder, vanilla essence etc. Mix this in.
Add the roasted nut and seed mixture into this, one handful at a time. Don’t add it all together so you can see if you need to add more nuts or more binding agent.
If you need more binding agent, add peanut butter as it will be difficult to melt more Gur/Jaggery into the mix. You don’t want to have too many nuts otherwise the bars will be too crumbly. If you have too much Gur/Jaggery, the bar may become too hard and sweet. So add more nuts to balance it out.
Place the hot nut mixture onto the parchment paper and spread it with the spoon to make it 1-2cm thick.
Fold the 4 sides of the parchment paper over to make a parcel and press down to make sure the mixture sticks together. Shape it to flatten it and press against the side of the container to flatten it out.
Then leave it to cool. You can put it in the fridge for a few minutes, but don’t let it harden too much as it will be difficult to cut into pieces.
Once the mixture has cooled, cut it into bars or small squares. Store the bars in an airtight container. Enjoy snacking on them!
TIPS
Using roasted, salted peanuts gives the bars a great flavour as they have a touch of salt in them. So if you are using plain peanuts, add a little salt to the mix.
If you want to add chocolate chips, sprinkle some chocolate chips onto the parchment paper before adding the hot nut mixture and press down on them. You can sprinkle some on top too before the nut mix cools.
Raisins should be added to the nut mix right at the end before placing onto the parchment paper.
Rice Crispies and Cornflakes should not be toasted and can be added to the mixture at the end also, for some crunch.
Don't overcook the Jaggery as your bars will have a burnt caramel flavour.
Don't make the bars too thick when shaping - it will be difficult to bite into!
Don't refrigerate the bars for too long as they become hard and difficult to cut!
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