Chocolate Cherry Power Bars

Finally!  I've finally been able to post at least one chocolate based recipe this month and now I can join all of the amazing bloggers who have contributed to the #chocolatelove blog hop!  February has been such a busy month for us that I wasn't able to co-host this month, but below my recipe, you'll find a list of all of the rockin' bloggers that did host February's #chocolatelove bloghop, as well as a list of the delectable recipes that have been shared so far.

For several years before my kids were born, I worked for a company well known in the natural health industry.  This recipe is one that has been a staple since those days.  My stained old recipe card, which is officially older than my teenage kids, is simply titled "Power Bars" and the original recipe goes like this:

• 1 c honey
• 1 c peanut butter
• 1/2 c carob powder
• 1 c sunflower meats
• 1 c shredded coconut
• 1 c almonds
• 1 c rolled oats
• 1 c raisins

And that's it.  There are no instructions because it's so silly easy; mix it together, then eat it.

Over the years, I've changed the recipe very little, but I'll let you in on a little secret - the measurements are all correct, so you can substitute any similar ingredients you like.  For instance, I like carob well enough, but I like cocoa just a little bit better.  I like raisins, but I like dried cherries or cranberries, too.  I like peanut butter, but I also really like almond butter.  I have substituted the almonds for walnuts or hazelnuts.  No honey?  Try brown rice syrup.  This recipe has lasted this long because I can change it depending on what I have on hand and what we all like at the moment.  Those kinds of recipes are called "keepers", folks.

These tasty, healthy little treats are similar to chewy granola bars, but do not need to be baked.  They are crazy easy to whip together and they taste amazing.

A few quick notes, though; when converting a recipe calling for carob powder to one that uses cocoa powder, generally use a little less cocoa powder because it has a stronger flavor.  In this recipe, I used the same amount because I like it like that - fudgy.  Also, be sure to refrigerate at least an hour (two is best) before eating these bars; the honey takes a while to do it's honey thing and if you eat them before it has had its time, the bars will taste very honey-like (not that that's a bad thing, really, but waiting allows all of the flavors to meld into some seriously yummy goodness).

Chocolate Cherry Power Bars

12-15 bars, depending on how you slice it

• 1 c raw honey
• 1 c natural peanut butter (preferably smooth, but crunchy works, too)
• 1/2 c cocoa powder
• 1 c raw sunflower meats
• 1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 c raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 c rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 c dried cherries

In a medium sauce pan, combine the honey, peanut butter and cocoa powder.  Heat over low heat until easy to mix.  Mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the sunflower meats, coconut, almonds, oats, and cherries.

Stir the chocolate peanut butter mixture into the oat and coconut mixture.  Mix well (you may want to forego the spoon and just use your hands).

Press the mixture into a 13x9 pan.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  With a sharp knife, cut into 12 or 15 bars.

Store in the refrigerator.

This recipe is also part of the Living Well Blog Hop #29 hosted at Common Sense Homestead 

and is a 

Common Sense Homestead Living Well Blog Hop #30

For more #chocolatelove and other fantastic recipes, check out these wonderful bloghop co-hosts! 


Please join in on the #chocolatelove fun by linking up any chocolate recipe from the month of February 2012!

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~ @astigvegan

Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl

Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins

Baking Extravaganza ~ Samantha

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue

Cooking with Books ~ Marnely ~ @nella22

Creative Cooking Corner ~ Karriann ~ @KarriannGraf

Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies

Elephant Eats ~ Amy

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19

Java Cupcake ~ Betsy ~ @JavaCupcake

Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica

Mike’s Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar

Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem

Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition

Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood

Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable

Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil

That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick

The Dusty Baker ~ Jacqueline ~ @dustybakergal

The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict

The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd

The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian

Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack

Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

You Made That? ~ Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

Maple Pecan Granola

"Where's the cereal?"  I can already hear my son calling this out tomorrow morning.  And I'll have to remind him once again that for the entire month of October (and hopefully beyond), he's going to need to find something other than cereal to eat for breakfast because I'm  not buying any more.

Tomorrow is the first day of EatingRules' month long challenge to eat only unprocessed foods (see the October Unprocessed button on the top left of this blog).  We mostly eat this way already, but there are a few things we'll need to address, and cereal is one of them.  Honestly, most of us, with the exception of our son, do not eat breakfast regularly - we usually eat "brunch", and what we choose varies based on what we are hungry for at that time of the morning (for me, it's usually just toast).  However, my son wakes up famished and immediately pours a big bowl of cereal.  On the weekends, he does make pancakes or waffles, but during the week, cereal is his go-to meal.

So, today I made a big batch of Maple Pecan Granola and I'm stashing it where the cereal boxes used to be. I also made a menu with breakfast, lunch and snack ideas (along with the dinner menu) and stuck it to the front of the fridge.  Hopefully this will make the transition easier for the poor kid so he won't have to think too hard about what he can eat.

I posted our menu here, and there is a link on the right side of the blog. I'm still working on setting up the menu page, so it might look a little different than this one for a while, but at least the menu is available right now.  If everyone likes the menus, I may keep posting them after October (so feel free to comment about whether they are  helpful to you or not).

Good luck to all the Unprocessed October warriors!

Maple Pecan Granola
makes about 7 cups; about 14 servings

• 4 c rolled oats (not quick)
• 1 c raw, unsalted pecans, chopped
• 1/2 c raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 c raw, unsalted sunflower seed meats
• 1 Tbs cinnamon
• 1/2 c oil (unrefined coconut oil is my first choice, but extra virgin olive oil or a good quality canola work well, too)
• 1 c pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure maple extract (such as Cook's Pure Maple Extract)
• 1 c dried fruit (apples, pears, rasins, cranberries, or a combination)

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the oil (if using coconut oil, warm it to a liquid state), maple syrup, and maple extract.  Mix well.

Pour the maple mixture over the oat mixture and mix well.

Turn the granola out onto a 15x10 jelly roll pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring well every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, stir again, and mix in the dried fruit.

I used cranberries and raisins, but apples and cranberries are amazing!

Cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.