Homemade Clif Bars: Your Recipe, My Kitchen

There are some days when I just don't feel like cooking.  Even a foodie can have an off day.  However, the family still expects to be fed regardless of my level of enthusiasm.  They even expect dessert!  On such days, when I don't have ice cream in the freezer, I turn to no-bake desserts.  They whip together in less than five minutes and satisfy every sweet tooth in the family (and there are a lot of teeth in 7 mouths!!)

I have been eying this recipe for Homemade Clif Bars on my list of bookmarks for a long time.  I buy Clif Bars once in a while for my sons when they go camping.   A homemade, much cheaper version was just too tempting not to try. I found it back in February on This Chick Cooks.  She found a similar recipe on Enlightened Cooking.  The two versions only really differed in their source of sweet.  One used honey and brown sugar while the other used brown rice syrup.  I chose to use agave nectar.  I also switched out the rice cereal for Uncle Sam's original which is wheat flakes and flax seeds.  I used all natural peanut butter with no sugar, too.  The results were delicious, though I think I will make more peanut butter mixture up next time.  These did not hold their shape like I wanted them to.

 Homemade Clif Bars (adapted slightly from this recipe)

1 1/2 cups cereal (crispy rice or other small flaked cereal)

1 cup oatmeal (quick or rolled)

1/4 cup chopped nuts (cashews, almonds, peanuts)

1/3 cup chopped dried fruit or seeds (sunflower, pumpkin flax, raisins, cherries, dates, blueberries)

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup or other liquid sweetener)

Boil sweetener in glass bowl in the microwave, stir in nut butter until smooth.  Combine all other ingredients in a bowl and add sweetened nut butter.  Stir until well coated and then press into a greased 8X8 pan.  Let cool and then cut into bars. 

Your turn.  What's cooking this week in your kitchen?  Did you try a new recipe or make an old stand by?  Link up below and please put a link back to this blog/post in your post.  

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