Copycat Recipe- Morning Peanut Butter Bars

We were in Seattle for a wedding last fall and ate a lot of great food! Whenever I am traveling I always have an eye out for gluten-free treats and I couldn’t resist buying a “morning peanut butter bar” at a cute little grocery store across the street from our hotel. It was from the Flying Apron Bakery, a much acclaimed gluten-free bakery I have read about online and seen mentioned in the blogosphere. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to recreate the recipe at home and the result was pretty darn close! This dense chewy bar is the perfect combo of salty and sweet and is very filling. Try one for breakfast, or break off a piece for a snack or dessert ☺

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter (I used Trader Joes Crunchy Salted, or Planter’s Natural)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup oats (old fashioned, not quick, use a gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill if you are on a gluten-free diet)
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes (chopped fine)
3 tablespoons dried raisins
¼ cup sunflower seeds
Wax or parchment paper

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Press mixture into an 8 by 8 inch pan. (Lining the pan with a large rectangular piece of parchment paper, placing the mixture on one side and then folding the paper over to press down works nicely. The dough will be a bit crumbly, but will come together nicely as you continue to work with it and pat it down into the pan.) Chill in the fridge for an hour or more (if you can wait that long!) and cut into 8 bars and serve. Wrapping the individual bars in wax paper and storing in baggies is great for convenience. Store in the fridge. These bars also freeze well!

Makes 8 bars

Serving size: 1/8th of recipe Calories 320 Protein 10 g Carb 27 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 14 g Fat 21 g Saturated fat 4.5 g Sodium 20 mg