Baking Day: Chewy Rice Seed Bars

Hooray for Monday – its Baking Day!

What better way to start the week than with a batch of something delicious to have on hand in the pantry throughout the week; double points if it’s refined sugar free and can be given to the kids without hesitation, all the better if it’s easy and can be whipped up in just a few minutes. This recipe ticks all those boxes and, no kidding, it’s so good I made it twice more the same week. These little beauties are curiously addictive, so consider yourself warned!

Sort of a waaaaaay healthier version of a peanut butter Rice Krispie square, the original version of this recipe was sourced from The Veg Kitchen blog: a fantastic resource for Vegans and Vegetarians, or anyone really who loves good, healthy and real food. Find the link here.

Ready to make it? Me too.

You will need:

1/2 cup rice malt syrup (AKA Brown Rice Syrup)
1/2 cup nut butter (I use natural peanut butter)
2 cups puffed rice cereal (I use the Abundant Earth brand, sold at Coles or Woolies if you are in Australia)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries or sultanas
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Combine the rice malt syrup and nut butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a slow simmer then gently stir together until the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Line a shallow baking tray (mine is 7 x 11 inch) with parchment paper and press mixture into tray. Place the tray in the refrigerator until set, about an hour or so. We personally lasted about ten minutes, after sampling what was stuck to the mixing spoon and realising this one was super yum.

As a final note, I will concede that there is an irony in posting a no-bake recipe as our first instalment in the Baking Day series. I figure, so long as we are producing something I can serve up for morning tea during the week when guests pop in, it qualifies for Baking Day, I’m not all that bothered with the technicalities. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did, they are scrumptious! If you do make them, pop a note in the comments! Bet you can’t eat just one…