This recipe first appeared in our local newspaper 10+ years ago, and was created (as I recall) by a couple of cyclists from Boulder, CO. I have been unable to locate their information to give credit, but it’s undergone so many modifications since then, that I’m probably not going to get sued for sharing my version here.
NUTTY BARS
In a large bowl, combine 6-7 cups of any combination of the following ingredients:
Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts
Chopped cashews, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts
Shredded coconut &/or coconut strips (dried, unsweetened)
Slivered almonds
Raisins, Craisins, golden raisins
Goji berries
Currants
Dried Cherries or other dried fruit
In a large (it foams up later, so allow space) saucepan, combine:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar or Monkfruit
1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter
1 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Bring to a full boil, then remove from heat. Add:
1 tsp baking soda
Mix vigorously as it will foam up. Pour over your dried fruit & nut mix and stir until combined. Spread thinly onto 2 large, oiled cookie sheets with edges, leaving a small margin around the edges. (Keeping your hands wet will help it not to stick to you.) It should be thinly spread without gaps.
Bake at 300 degrees for about 15 min.
Reshape the edges and return to the oven until evenly browned. Allow to cool slightly and cut into bars using a firm plastic scraper (the kind you get for cleaning stoneware pans). Some use a pizza cutter. Once the bars will hold their shape, but are still warm, lift them out of the pan to cool on parchment paper. You can reshape them into squares or oblong like an energy bar. If they get too hard, put the pan back into the oven to soften them again. After they cool, pack into snack baggies. Note: wax paper often sticks to these, even after they’ve cooled, so use clear wrap between layers if not storing in snack or sandwich baggies.
This is what the cooked mixture looks like after adding baking soda.
An example of my nut/seed/fruit mixture (huge 4x batch).