Chocolate Pistachio Cherry Trail Bars

Finally, a recipe suited for adventuring!  In the coming weeks I'll be posting some camp-friendly recipes along with take along snacks for hiking or road tripping.  I'm currently preparing for a two-week road trip to the Pacific Northwest (I leave in 23 days ahhh!) so I'll be updating as much as I can until then.

This is a pretty basic trail bar recipe: oats, nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, and of course...chocolate!  I use flax eggs (1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water = 1 "egg"), peanut butter, and agave to hold the bars together.  Maple syrup or brown rice syrup can also be substituted for the agave.  It's hard to find raw, unsalted pistachios, but luckily it doesn't really matter.  In the bulk section of my grocery store I found shelled, roasted, and salted pistachios, and they worked out fine.  If you use unsalted pistachios (or substitute another nut), add a couple pinches of salt into your dry mix.



Ingredients:

2 c. oats
1/2 c. pistachios
1/2 c. dried cherries
1/2 c. finely shredded coconut
1 chocolate bar (or a handful of chocolate chips)
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
6 Tbsp water
1/4 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. agave
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract


Method:

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix the ground flax seed and water.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the oats, pistachios, dried cherries, and coconut, tossing together with your hands.  Chop half of your chocolate bar into chunks and add it with the oat mixture.  Reserve the other half of the chocolate bar to melt and drizzle on top of your trail bars.

Your flax seed should be nice and thickened by now.  Stir the mixture again and add the peanut butter, agave, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.  Combine your wet mixture before folding into the dry mixture.  Dump into prepared baking dish and press firmly with the back of a rubber spatula until mixture is even and feels compact, like it will hold together.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to slightly brown.

Let bars cool until the bottom of the pan isn't hot anymore and refrigerate.  Melt reserved chocolate to drizzle over the top.  Cut and store in airtight container in the refrigerator or throw in your backpack and take on a hike!