Crunchy Granola Bars

Conceivably, these granola bars are so seedy that you could replace the cup-and-a-half of oats if you had to, but I love oats and am happy I have some that I can eat. Remember that you must locate gluten-free, uncontaminated oats such as those from Cream Hill Estates. The recipe is pretty adaptable to your tastes and the contents of your cupboard. All sunflower seeds or all pepitas are both great. Any dried fruit is great. It would also be very feasible to make these nut-free. Omit the almond extract and replace the almonds with more pepitas!

1/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup veg. oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups pure, uncontaminated rolled oats
1 cup GF rice crispies
1 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) (also unsalted)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
a pinch of sea salt

Line a metal lasagna pan or other pan about 12x15" with parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides.

Combine corn syrup, vegetable oil, and honey in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in almond extract and vanilla after the few minutes of cooling.

In the meantime, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, rice crispies, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, coconut, almonds, sesame seeds, and salt in a large bowl.

Pour the syrup over the dry ingredients and stir to mix very well. Pour into paarchment-paper lined pan and press in firmly and evenly.

Bake at 350F until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into bars, preferably with a rotary pizza cutter. I cut them into six 2" pieces lengthwise and then into three 5" pieces crosswise to make 18 bar-shaped bars. Save any bits that crumble off the edges to sprinkle on yogurt. These freeze very well.

Oatmeal Banana Bread

Here's a yummy moist banana oat bread you can add extras to, if you like -- dried cranberries, walnuts or pecans, or even chocolate chips. It is inspired by a recipe in Today's Parent magazine, which recommended the chocolate chips (perhaps unsurprisingly). I bet this could be made dairy-free very easily with soy milk -- though skip the baking soda in favour of extra baking powder in that case.

3/4 cup gluten-free (pure, uncontaminated) old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda

2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup extras (nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x5" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flours, starches, flaxseed meal, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder and soda.

In a smaller bowl, whisk bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened throughout. Fold in extras. Bake at 350F for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick in the centre tests clean. Let cool in the pan a few minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Apple or Rhubarb Crisp II

Here is my favourite gluten-free apple/rhubarb crisp topping with oatmeal, based on my Scottish grandmother's recipe. If you don't have access to pure, uncontaminated oatmeal, use the oatmeal-based version of the recipe in the last post, Apple or Rhubarb Crisp I.

4 cups fruit, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup arrowroot flour or tapioca starch
1/2 to 1 cup sugar (1/2 for apple, 1 for rhubarb)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Gluten-Free Topping:
1/4 cup fine dry gluten-free bread crumbs
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Combine sliced fruit, white sugar, 1/4 cup arrowroot flour, cinnamon, and water. Pour into a 9” square pan. Combine bread crumbs, brown rice, tapioca starch, brown sugar, oatmeal, and melted butter in a small bowl. Mix well and crumble over the fruit in the pan. Pat down lightly. Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

Date Squares

Another recipe for an oat-based treat I used to enjoy before celiac disease. The recipe has been restored to me since I ordered uncontaminated oatmeal from Cream Hill Estates. Be sure to confirm that your celiac friends can tolerate pure oats before serving; some can't.

Filling:
500 g pitted dates
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup hot water

Base/Topping:
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups uncontaminated oats

Mix dates, brown sugar, and hot water in a saucepan and cook on top of the stove over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the dates are soft. Set aside to cool.

Sift flours, starches, xanthan gum, soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter to make fine crumbs. Blend in brown sugar and rolled oats. Mix well to resemble coarse crumbs.

Press half the oat mixture into well-greased 9x13” pan. Cover with date filling and top with crumbles of the remainder of the oat mixture. Pressing gently and evenly to make sure topping is well distributed (it will puff and spread a bit, but not much, as it bakes). Bake at 325F for 30 to 35 minutes, until topping is puffed and golden.

Cut in squares in the pan while hot; cool in the pan before serving.

Chewy Chocolate-Butterscotch Chip Cookies

An adapted version of a recipe from an old Harrowsmith recipe. These were popular when I made them yesterday, though I can't comment on how well they might keep, since they didn't last long enough . . .

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups ground oatmeal (gluten-free oatmeal pulverized in a food processor)
1/3 cup amaranth flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 oz chocolate chips
2 oz butterscotch chips
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars, then eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk oatmeals, flours and starches, xanthan, soda, and baking powder.

With the electric mixer running, blend flour mixture into butter mixture. Add chocolate and butterscotch chips, coconut, and almonds and mix with the electric mixer until well combined.

Roll into balls, one large tablespoonful at a time, to make 36 balls. Place 2" apart on a parchment paper-lined or silicone sheet-lined pan. Flatten balls slightly with your hand. Bake for 10 minutes, until beginning to brown lightly. Allow to cool a few minutes on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Gluten-Free Granola

As I have now mentioned several times, I ordered twenty-five pounds of wonderful pure, uncontaminated oatmeal from Cream Hill in Quebec, and my life has been greatly enriched by being able to reintroduce the texture and taste of oats into my diet. Here’s a fantastic granola recipe that tastes a bit similar to “Harvest Crunch” and is good by the handful as well as by the bowlful.

(And the warning again -- uncontaminated oats are not available everywhere, and not all celiacs can tolerate oats at all, so be sure whomever you’re cooking for is okay with oats, and be absolutely sure you use pure, uncontaminated oats.)

3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pepitas (raw hulled pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tbsp powdered milk or soy milk powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp sea salt

In a large bowl, combine oats, flaxseed, coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, and milk powder.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt honey with vegetable oil. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and almond extract. Pour over oat mixture and stir well. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 300F for 30 minutes, stirring well every 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally until fully cool.

Add raisins or other dried fruit if you like.

Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins

I like these best with the dark, granular, molasses-y evaporated cane juice -- which is just what it sounds like: really, really unrefined sugar. They work just fine with light brown sugar, instead.

Be sure your oats are certified pure and uncontaminated like the ones sold by Cream Hill Estates here in Canada. Make sure also that any celiac muffin-eaters-to-be are okay with oats.

1 cup pure, uncontaminated rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice (or light brown sugar)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp gelatin
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1 cup blueberries (frozen are fine)

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oatmeal and buttermilk, and soak for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients and do a little dance around the kitchen to kill any extra waiting time.

In a small bowl, whisk together flours, xanthan gum, gelatin, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add eggs, sugar, and melted butter, stirring well to combine.

Stir in dry ingredients, just to combine. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter into 12 prepared muffin cups, and bake for 20 minutes until slightly risen and evenly golden or until the muffins test clean. (Muffins made with the evaporated cane juice will be darker than you will expect.)

Makes a dozen delicious muffins.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal is a treat I wasn’t sure I would be able to enjoy again until I ordered pure, uncontaminated oatmeal from Cream Hill Estates in Quebec. Hooray! I ordered a 25 pounds of rolled oats, and I've been experimenting with all kinds of cookies and muffins. I've been converting all my beloved granola recipes, too, and I can't wait to make a proper rhubarb or apple crisp.

Be sure to use only pure, uncontaminated oats before making these for celiac friends, and bear in mind that some celiacs can't tolerate even pure and uncontaminated oats, and it's nothing personal. (See the Canadian Celiac Association's statement on oats here.)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp GF vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp GF baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips (or to taste)

Cream butter and sugar very lightly, just until combined. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, coconut, and oats. Mix well. Add to creamed mixture and stir. Stir in chocolate chips until well distributed.

Drop by the teaspoonful, spaced 2 inches apart, onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes, until light golden. The cookies will have spread. Cool on the pan before transferring to racks or to your mouth.

Makes about 40 cookies.