Brown Rice Crispy Bars w/ Fruit and Nuts

I'm ashamed to admit it, but a decent percentage of my meals/snacks come in bar form. I stock up on Luna Bars and other packaged carb bars like it's going out of style. I'm just happy that bar-food (not to be confused with the other type of bar food, as in the kind that goes with happy hour) has improved since those original protein bars that were approximately the consistency of cardboard and glue. At least they're better than a candy bar for a late afternoon snack before my run.

But over the last couple of months I've been trying to make my own bars, to varying degrees of success. Granola bars were not my friend. (They went from bar to crumble in about 2 seconds.) These brown rice crispy bars are very friendly on the other hand. They come together quickly, require no baking, and are done in less than an hour.

And even though they're healthy (well other than those marshmallows, but something has to hold all those nutrients together), they're still amazingly chewy, with a little sweet/tart kick from the dried berries, and a good crunch from the almonds. No one will even realize the rice is brown, the sugar is reduced, and the fat is the healthy kind. Trust me. I've eaten them for dessert, snacks, and breakfast. But mostly I pack them up and bring them to share with my running group.



Brown Rice Crispy Bars w/ Fruit and Nuts
Adapted from Alton Brown, Food Network

Brown puffed rice is not the same as brown crispy rice. I've made these with both, but if you do use brown crispy rice, the measurements will be off. I remedied this by adding the crispy rice to the marshmallow mixture slowly until it felt like the marshmallow goop couldn't absorb any more crispy rice. You also probably don't need to toast the crispy rice, although I'm dubious of the need to toast the puffed rice too.

Ingredients:
3 oz. (6 cups) puffed brown rice
3 oz. (3/4 cup) almonds, toasted and chopped
4 oz. (1 cup) dried fruit (I prefer half cherries, half cranberries)
7 oz. (4 cups) mini marshmallows
3 tbs. flax seed oil, plus more for pan
1 tbs. honey

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Line a 13X9X2 in. pan with foil, and lightly coat with oil.
-Spread the brown puffed rice on a sheet pan and toast for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Combine the rice, almonds, and dried fruit in a large bowl.
-In a metal mixing bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, combine the marshmallows, flax seed oil, and honey. Be patient. You don't want the flax seed oil to get too hot or it will taste terrible. So keep stirring, keep the heat low, and don't try to do this in a pan directly on the burner.
-When the marshmallow is thoroughly melted and the oil is well mixed in, add the rice mixture and store to coat evenly.
-Coat the back of a spatula or a wooden spoon with oil and use that to press the mixture into the foil-lined pan evenly.
-Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Store in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days. (After that the flax seed oil can make the bars taste bad.)

Chocolate-Cherry Crumb Cake Muffins

Hey you guys! How have you been?

(Silence.)

O, there's no one left? That's too bad. I guess I'll just have to eat these muffins all by myself. I can't say I mind. They're pretty ridiculously scrumptious. Not too sweet, but just decadent enough to straddle the line between a tame desert and a generous breakfast.



I recently decided that muffins are my favorite thing to bake. They're super quick, and they're in individual portions, which is perfect for taking to work, or my running group, or just to prevent myself from eating an obscene amount in one sitting.

They're also extremely versatile. My "regular" muffins lately have been a blueberry bran muffin. I make half a batch every week and have them for breakfast. Those ones are a tad healthier, but I'll tell you about them later. You can't come back from such a long absence with a bran muffin. If I did that, the one soul out there still reading would head for the exit.

No you need a peace offering, which obviously means chocolate. Then some fresh fruit, since summer is in full force. And how about a little nutty, brown sugar topping, just for good measure.

Cherry season is almost over, so go and make these soon! Or it will be another 12 months....



Chocolate-Cherry Crumb Cake Muffins
Makes 12

You don't have to have a cherry pitter to make these. I don't. Just carefully use a paring knife. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes to de-pit and quarter a cup. Also, I grind my almonds in food process, until they're somewhere between oatmeal and flour in consistency. Feel free to use a rougher chop, and bigger pieces, if you prefer.


Ingredients:
Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour (I used cake flour when I was out of AP)*
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
3 tbs. melted butter or oil
1 cup milk (2% works well)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup quartered cherries
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Crumb Topping
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup ground almonds (rough chopped, if you prefer)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with liners or cooking spray.
-In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
-In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gentle fold together. The batter does not have to be smooth, so mix only until combined.
-Stir in the cherries and the chocolate chips.
-Combine the crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl.
-Divide the batter in the muffin cups, sprinkle the tops with the crumb topping.
-Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire wrack.

*Remember that engagement cake I made monttttths ago? I was a little overzealous buying cake flour for that, and since I bake like one cake a year, I still have several boxes left.

In case you want to know, although you might not, I calculated the total calories for the ingredients, and I came up with about 230 calories per muffin. This is not scientific by any means, but it's a rough estimate. Fat? Protein? Fiber? I don't have that much time on my hands. I'm sorry.