12 weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop -- December Power Bars

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is already here?  In my neighborhood, people are battling out between the traditionalists, who don't believe in decorating for Christmas until Thanksgiving is past, and the ones who have already decked the halls.  In theory, I am with the traditionalist crowd and want to see Thanksgiving get its full due before rushing on to Yule time.  I have to admit, though, that I have jumped the gun this year and put up a couple of things.  Have you decorated yet?  I'd love to hear.

My December calendar is filled with many exciting events, not the least  of which is having all of my chickens home for Christmas.  This grandma is going to need some energy to keep up with all of the fun.  To that end, I have decided to cook what I am calling "December Power Bars" tonight.  I have taken a recipe for energy bars and have tinkered around with it to suit the ingredients that I have on hand.  One of those ingredients is a trail mix with dark chocolate and cranberries, which I think gives the bars a seasonal touch.  I bought the mix at our Neighborhood Walmart Grocery Store.

Here's the original recipe from Food.com:

1/2 cup honey, warm

4 Tablespoons of peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4  tspn. nutmeg

1/4 tspn cinnamon

2 Tablespoons wheat germ

1 Tablespoon brewer's yeast

1 tablespoon molasses

1 1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/12 cups sunflower seeds

1 cup walnuts. 

Serves 18

Stir and mix well the first nine ingredients

Add remaining ingredients and mix with hands

Pat into a 9 by 12 inch greased pan

Bake at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes (It took me 25)

Cool and cut into bars

My changes:  Instead of the amounts of seeds and nuts, I used one cup dark chocolate/cranberry trail mix, 1 scoop pea protein, 1 scoop (the same scoop) of rice protein, and a scant cup of pecan pieces.   I left out the cinnamon and the nutmeg. 

After I made these, I read a review of the original bars.  The reviewer commented that the bars are grainy and crumbly, and she ended up using her batch as tasty, peanut butter flavored granola sprinkles for yogurt.  When I first took this out of the oven, I was afraid that I would have the same problem with crumbling that she did.  As it has cooled, however, it has taken on the consistency of a true cookie.

Enjoy!