Homemade Fruit & Nut "KIND Bars"
Servings: 24 bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups raw almonds, one half whole, one half roughly chopped
- ¾ cup raw walnuts, one half whole, one half roughly chopped
- ¾ cup raw macadamia nuts
- ¾ cup roasted and salted pepitas
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons roasted and salted sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons hemp hearts
- ¾ cup puffed millet
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons seedless raisins
- ½ cup brown rice syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Plus:
- 18x13 inch baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Oil for greasing I used refined coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a bakers half sheet (18 x 13 inch rimmed baking sheewith parchment paper, then lightly grease it with an oil of your choice. Set aside while you assemble the nut mixture.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, millet, cranberries, and raisins. When evenly mixed, add in the brown rice syrup & vanilla and mix with your hands until well combined. If you don’t want the mixture to stick to your hands, lightly grease them with oil before mixing.
- When the mixture is uniform, transfer to your prepped baking sheet & spread evenly, using your hands to press the fruit and nut mixture into an even layer.
- Place in the oven & bake for roughly 15 minutes, or until the syrup is just golden. Cooking it longer will impart a caramelized flavor & the bars may become brittle. Experiment with cooking times to see what works best in your oven.
- Remove the tray from the oven & let cool on a cooling rack or on top of the stove (to encourage air circulation underneath the pan). When cool to the touch (roughly 30-40 minutes later), transfer the tray to the fridge to cool for another 20 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the refrigerator & lift the parchment paper with the fruit & nut bars out of the baking sheet and onto a large cutting board. Use a knife to cut the bars into your desired size and shape, then wrap individually in parchment paper or plastic wrap to prevent sticking. Store in the fridge and enjoy all week!