trail mix bars

remember long ago, when i teased you with this photo?

i debated long and hard about whether to share this dangerous recipe with you, and today i decided that i just can’t keep it from you any longer.  here are the basic ingredients:

okay, that’s most of the ingredients (i just noticed that i forgot to include a pile of chocolate chips in the last photo–very important!), but if you prefer a more traditionally formatted recipe, here ya go!  (more notes from me at the bottom)

Peanut Butter/Oatmeal Trail Bars

Combine in a small bowl:

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

Combine in a larger bowl:

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup packed brown sugar (i left this out the second time and it made them less sickly sweet)

1/3 cup honey

Combine in a third bowl:

1 large egg + 2 egg whites (the second time, i just used two whole eggs and it turned out fine as far as i can tell)

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla.

Add third bowl to the peanut butter mixture.  Then add the flour mixture.

then add:

2 cups Quick Oats

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or almonds or whatever your favorite nuts are

1 cup Craisins or dried cherries or dried apricots or whatever your favorite dried fruits are

½ to 1 cup of dark chocolate chips or whatever your favorite indulgence is–butterscotch chips perhaps?  yogurt covered raisins?

*here’s where you can really personalize these bars to your own favorites.  you can leave the dried fruit out if you don’t like it or leave the nuts out of you’re allergic or put all of them in or add in other stuff.  i think next time i might try coconut!  or throw in some rice krispies to lighten them up!

Mix together with a rubber spatula and pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan, pressing down lightly.  Bake at 350 (325 for a dark pan) for about 20-25 minutes until lightly brown or firm to the touch.  Let cool completely before cutting into.

(here’s the dangerous bit.  you might want to avert your eyes.)

Each 2” x 2” square is 175 calories.

granted, that calorie count is with the brown sugar that i took out, but it’s also without an extra egg yolk and probably with less chocolate chips than i generally use, so it’s really just a ballpark figure.

here’s how i fight the urge to eat the entire pan at one sitting–wait for the pan to cool completely, then cut them into 2″x2″ squares (or smaller if you prefer) and freeze them!  I actually enjoy eating them right out of the freezer–they’re excellent cold.

now go forth, live dangerously, but don’t say i didn’t warn you!