No-Bake Trail Mix Granola Bars (vegan + gluten-free)

Hey friends! Today I had the pleasure of guest posting on one of my favourite blogs, Running On Real Food!

If you head on over to Deryn's blog you'll find the recipe for these No-Bake Trail Mix Granola Bars.

I just love having easy go-to snacks like these on hand. And I know how much you guys love them too becuase like these Cashew Cookie Dough Bars, that's one of my most popular posts ever, they always end up being a big hit.

These tasty bars are full of flavour and satisfying crunch thanks to toasted quinoa, walnuts, almonds, pepitas and sunflower seeds. They're packed with nutrition and just all-around delicious! They're vegan, gluten-free, and require no baking whatsoever. Enjoy!

Get the recipe --> No-Bake Trail Mix Granola Bars on Running On Real Food.

Gluten-Free Soft Baked Breakfast Cookies

Let' get right down to business today.

These cookies. Oh my gooodness!

I haven't stopped thinking about them since last Friday.

You might have seen me post about them on instagram last weekend.

They're a take on my Flourless Breakfast Cookies that I posted at the beginning of January. I can promise you that you'll never ever know that these are gluten-free. The texture is out of this world. Their soft doughiness is off-the-charts.

They're thick + chewy, full of flavour, and super soft thanks to a combination of oat flour (ground from gluten-free oats) and rolled oats. Oat flour is one of my favourite clean eating flours, which you'll notice I use in many of my baking recipes.

On my first bite, I though these soft-baked breakfast cookies were very similar to baked oatmeal. You can use any kind of nut or seed butter you like if peanut butter isn't your thing, but I found the peanut butter flavour wasn't overly strong. Almond butter and cashew butter would be pretty great to try too. Or if you're feeling adventurous, maybe even a mix of nut butters!

To make things exciting I added two mix-ins. Dark chocolate chunks and slivered almonds -a match made in heaven.

adapted fromFlourless Breakfast Cookies

Soft Baked Breakfast Cookies

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (8-10 large cookies)

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup oat flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup natural peanut butter, or other nut butter
• 1/4 cup honey, or pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand-mixer) and whisk together. Stir in the peanut butter, honey, applesauce, and mashed banana. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined. Gently stir in chocolate and slivered almonds. The dough will be thick and wet.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough (apprx. 1/4 cup) and drop onto prepared baking sheet. Slightly flatten the tops for desired thickness. The cookies will not spread out in the oven.

Bake for 15-17 minutes until edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets.

Notes

The cookies will stay fresh at room temperature for about 1 week. You can also freeze them in sealed containers/ or freezer bags for up to 3 months.

Nutritional Information

Serving Size: 1 cookie Calories: 255 Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 3.5g Carbohydrates: 19g Sugar: 7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 48mg Fiber: 4g Protein: 11g

I'm thinking these will be an excellent addition to your week. Enjoy!