Recipes

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with foil, and lightly spritz with cooking spray. You could use a slightly larger pan, and just get thinner bars, just make sure to not bake as long. Spread all the nuts and coconut onto a sheet pan, and toast in the oven for 7-9 minutes, check every couple of minutes, so they don't burn. When well toasted, remove the pan, and let cool while you mix the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, puffed rice, seeds, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In separate bowl, whisk egg, oil and rice syrup until well blended. Combine dry and wet, and stir in fruit, nuts, and coconut. Spread the mixture into prepared pan, and even out as much as possible. I also reserve 1 Tablespoon of sesame seeds and sprinkle those on top. It makes them extra pretty You could use a spatula, or back of a wooden spoon (I just ended up using my hands… cook's best tool)

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly brown and firm to touch. Let cool completely, and then turn out onto a cutting board to cut into bars, or squares. Use a sharp knife, or serrated one and cut slowly, so the bars don't fracture into a bunch of pieces. Theses keep well for several days in an airtight container.

*One small note, if you want to change the recipe slightly, then double the amount of oats, and omit the puffed brown rice. I didn't want them to be that dense, so opted to only use 1 cup oats and used about another 1 ½ cups puffed rice. It makes the recipe go a little further, and gives the bars a more satisfying crunch once baked . So if you don't have puffed whole brown rice, just use 2 cups oats.