Maple-Cinnamon Granola Bars

Ok, I know I say that everything that makes it on this blog has passed the non-allegy "hubby" test, but these are seriously beyond good. Like, make a batch for breakfast and have no desire to eat anything else all day kind of good. Like, your husband getting slightly annoyed that your son got two of the eight kind of good :) And did I mention they are good for you? High in protein and carbs, these guys really can be a guilt-free breakfast or snack for both kids and adults!

Maple-Cinnamon Granola Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup crisped brown rice cereal (I used Perky's- by Enjoy Life brand)
1/4 cup gluten-free flour blend
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rice or soy protein powder, nonfat powdered milk, or more flour blend
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sunflower seed butter (or nut-butter of your choice)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp real vanilla extract
2 Tbs canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Lightly oil an 8-incn square baking pan. In a large bowl mix oats, crisped rice, flour, brown sugar, protein powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl whisk nut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and canola oil until smooth. Stir wet mixture into the dry, and if needed, use your hand to combine thoroughly.

Scrape mixture into the prepared pan, and use wet hands to pat it even. Bake for 20 minutes. Using a bench knife or stiff metal spatula, cut into eight bars by dividing it into 4 one way, the cutting in half the other direction. If you like soft granola bars, you are done. For crunchy, put the pan back in the oven for 5 minutes. The bars should be golden brown. Let cool completely (if you can; I couldn't!), then carefully cut the bars apart and separate them from the sides of the pan before removing. Store in a tightly closed container up to a week, or freeze for a month. A bit of a non-issue; around here they have never made it past 24 hours :)