I decided to create my own gluten free snack bars with healthier choices of gluten free flours, and free of many allergens. Though the bar is heavy due its content, you can definitely make them more cake-like with lighter weight flours such as rice, sorghum, millet, etc. Just adjust the baking time as needed. You may also make them higher in fiber by using corn or rice bran to replace some or all of the buckwheat flour.
Since the tops turn out a bit dry, I have provided a guar gum glaze recipe to coat it. It is optional, of course. As a side note, I over baked the one in the photo below and still turned out delicious. The guar gum glaze is not included in the nutritional facts, but it is of minimum value, anyway. The less water you include in the glaze, the shinier it will be. One tablespoon of water is the maximum you will wish to use, as it provides very little shine. I suggest starting with 2 teaspoons. I hope you enjoy these gluten free bars, as they are Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Grain-Free, Sugar-Free*, Soy-Free, Corn-Free, Yeast-Free, and Oat-Free. Contains Egg and Tree Nuts.
Healthier gluten free bars for snacking or dessert. Filled with moist chunks of baked apples, along with your favorite nuts and dried fruit.
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup buckwheat flour
- 1/3 cup amaranth flour
- ¼ cup teff flour
- 2 ½ Tablespoons flax seed meal
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- 1 1/3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon guar gum
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon stevia
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- ½ cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 2 Tablespoons unsulphured molasses
- 1 red apple, small (6 oz.), chopped = 1 cup
- ½ cup dried cranberries* (or other dried fruit)
- 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (or your favorite nuts)
- 1/8 teaspoon guar gum
- 2 teaspoons filtered water
Instructions:
- Lightly oil an 8 x 8-inch baking pan (I used glass) with parchment paper or Martha Wrap so that 2 of the sides hang over, making easy to lift out. Oil the parchment paper.
- To the bowl of your food processor add dry ingredients. Mix until well blended, scraping bottom of bowl once.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Add wet ingredients and pulsate until well blended.
- Add dried fruit, nuts and chopped apples. Using the paddle tool of your mixer, or by hand, fold in the addins.
- Add the dough to the prepared pan; add drops of filtered water on top; and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake approximately 35 minutes or until toothpick clean in the center and firm.
- With a knife, loosen the edges of the pan where necessary and transfer it to a cooling rack. Once cooled, cut in desired sizes.
- Because the top has a dried appearance, you may wish to glaze the top by mixing the guar gum and water, stir, and baste on top of each piece.
- Store in an air-tight container on your countertop for several days; or wrap each piece individually and freeze.
Tips
If you do not have parchment paper on hand you may use aluminum foil, though it is controversial whether the aluminum in the foil will seep into your baked goods.
If you over bake it a little, it will still taste moist, as the applesauce, molasses, eggs and apples are very moist. Therefore, it's better to over bake than under bake.
*The dried cranberries I used in this recipe are Ocean Spray Craisins, which is all I had on hand, but not sugar-free. A good substitute would be organic refined sugar-free dried cranberries, raisins, or unsweetened dried apricot. Trader Joe's even carries unsweetened freeze dried fruit that you can rehydrate.
These look so awesome- love the high fiber and great nutritional stats!
What is pure baking supplement?
Baking powder but that sounds like an extreme amount????
I’d like to know the same thing – what is this baking supplement, and where do you get it?
Hi CM!
I have now linked to Montina Baking Supplement in the ingredients list. It has a bit of a nutty flavor. It is not a grain, but Indian ricegrass. I used to buy it on Amazon.com, but they are currently out of stock. I did, however, finally find an online store that sells it: http://www.akins.com/shop/product_view.asp?id=1451063&StoreID=A59A6B1C10E44C9E9420A7A75B27460A&private_product=1 Hope this helps.
Carla
These look yummy! Is the stevia you used liquid or powdered?
Niki, It’s powdered. The product name is Stevita Spoonable Stevia. I get it from Vitacost.com .
Carla