Wild Blueberry Coconut Granola Bars

Ingredients

Crust

• 6 tablespoons warm water
• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 1/2 cup almonds, ground into flour
• 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup stevia in the raw
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, cold, cut into pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Wild Blueberry Chia Jam (see below)
• Almond-Coconut Granola (see below)

Granola

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup slivered or chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

Wild blueberry chia jam:

• 3 cups wild blueberries
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

1. First prepare crust. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9-by-13-inch baking dish with foil. Coat with cooking spray and set aside. Prepare flax egg by combining warm water and flax in small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes, whisking a couple of times until gel forms. Process almonds in food processor until finely ground. Add flour, stevia, baking powder and salt and pulse to combine. Pour into large bowl. Add applesauce and stir until evenly mixed. Cut in coconut oil until evenly distributed. Add vanilla extract to flax egg, then pour over flour mixture and mix until dough is formed. Pour dough into baking dish and spread until covering bottom of dish. Prick dough all over with fork and bake until edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool.
2. Next, prepare granola. Preheat oven to 275°F. In small sauce pan over low heat, melt together coconut oil and maple syrup. Remove from heat and stir in water and vanilla extract. In separate bowl, stir together oats, almonds, coconut, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour oil mixture over oat mixture; stir until combined. Evenly spread out granola on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 30 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
3. Lastly prepare jam. In medium sauce pan, over medium-high heat combine wild blueberries and maple syrup. Continuously stir and mash blueberries and bring to a simmer for about five minutes. Add chia seeds and continue to stir and mash. Turn heat to low-medium and let cook for about 10 minutes. Once jam has thickened up, stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Spread jam over crust and top with granola. Bake until jam is bubbling and granola topping is browned, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool, then and cut into 16 squares.

Serves

16 servings

Source

Wild Blueberry Association

© 2014 All rights reserved.