Saturday, July 2, 2011

Chocolate Oat Walnut Bars

This is a recipe I found over at (never home) maker. These tasty bars are full of good-for-you fats found in walnuts and coconut oil. The walnuts provide you with a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatory), and coconut oil has been found to support thyroid and immune system function. About 50% of the fat in coconut oil is a type called lauric acid. You can read about coconut oil and its benefits here.


Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup steel cut oats, processed until powdery
  • 3/4 cup walnuts, processed into a meal
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)
  • 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
For this recipe, however, I didn't have any steel cut oats on hand so I ended up using plain rolled oats. I think this may have been the reason as to why my bars ended up a bit dry and powdery. I had to store them in the fridge to keep them more solid. 


  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
  2. Whisk together the processed steel cut oats, walnut meal, cocoa powder, and coconut flakes.
  3. In a separate bowl, add honey (or maple syrup), coconut oil, and peanut butter. Stir with electric mixer. Then add in the chocolate chippies.
  4. Lightly oil an 8x8 pan with coconut oil. I used a bread loaf pan. Pour in the mixture and press down.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
  6. Put the dish BACK IN THE OVEN for another 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove and let cool. 
  7. Store in refrigerator to help them solidify a bit more. 

Enjoy with a glass of ice-cold soymilk 
(or almond milk, coconut milk...you get the idea)!

5 comments:

  1. i love how this is gluten free!!! i have such a weakness for brownies! this looks fabulous!!! bookmarked! :D

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  2. wow, love this! I am ADDICTED to brownies! Thanks to Junia for sharing this on twitter! Now I need one of these!

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  3. These sound yummy! Couldn't you make these raw?

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  4. @Junia: You probably already know this but just be sure to buy oats that are specifically labeled gluten free!

    I use: Bob's Red Mill GF Oat

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  5. @Beach Mama: From what I’ve read, rolled oats and steel cut oats would not be considered raw because they have been processed (hulled and steamed, roasted, etc.). In Ani Phyo’s raw cookbooks, however, she uses raw oat groats in her recipes that have been soaked in water overnight, rinsed and then blended with a food processor.

    But if you’re not extremely concerned with the “raw” aspect, then yes, you can just not bake these bars. However, you would need to leave them in the fridge overnight so they can harden. This recipe video for raw chocolate chip bars might be useful: Raw Chocolate Chip Bars

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