Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars – Gluten-Free
Yesterday I was trying to find a new way to make some of my favorite things. I was contemplating different combinations, varying shapes and textures, flours with more fiber. Gluten-free oatmeal snacks with walnuts instead of pecans. Bars instead of cookies.
Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars - Gluten-Free
I wanted chewy, crunchy, interwoven flavors, better-for-you-than-cookies – plus quick to make and easy to pack.
What I ended up baking was Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars. The three textures of oatmeal, raisins and walnuts are held together in a sweet dough of whole-grain flours with a brown sugar and vanilla flavor. One day I’d like to experiment with different sweeteners in this…when I have more time.
Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars are quick and easy to make – 10 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to bake, and not much to clean up. I wanted time left to relax after finishing.
These yummy treats definitely qualify for easy gluten-free living.
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Butter, Margarine, or Butter-Flavored Shortening, at room temperature
1 Cup Brown Sugar, or less, to taste
1 Extra Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract, gluten-free
1/2 Cup Garbanzo Flour
1/2 Cup Brown Rice Flour, extra-finely ground
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder, Gluten-free
1 Cup Certified Gluten-free Rolled Oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill this time)
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
1/2 Cup Walnuts, broken
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Cream butter, margarine or shortening in mixer.
Add sugar, then egg and vanilla. Beat well after each addition.
Add dry ingredients except oats, mixing on low speed, scraping sides of bowl often, until well-blended.
Add oats, mixing on low speed, scraping sides of bowl often.
Stir in raisins and nuts, blending well.
Spread in a well-greased 8×8″ or 9×9″ baking pan. Bake until lightly browned (15-20 minutes).
~
My husband is not too interested in cookies or bars. Sometimes he’ll eat a Larabar. But, those are in a class of their own. He especially is not interested in healthy cookies or bars, no matter how good for him or frugal or easy-to-make they are.
If it doesn’t have more sugar than the average cookie, he won’t pay attention… (typical guy?)…as a result he didn’t eat more than one of these bars. I was disappointed, but not surprised. (He will eat my traditional soft oatmeal cookies, which are neither quick nor easy.) If I want him to eat oatmeal, all I have to do is cook him a bowl of it for breakfast. I just won’t get him to eat it in bar form.
These bars are gluten-free (no wheat, barley or rye). Be sure to check your ingredients lists every time you buy to verify that what you’re using is (still) gluten-free. Oats are especially prone to cross-contamination in their production and harvesting process, so be sure to use Certified Gluten-free Oats if you need to avoid gluten.
If you use a casein-free margarine or shortening, these bars can also be casein-free, dairy-free and lactose-free.
Linked to:
Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Gluten-Free Homemaker’s Gluten-Free Wednesday
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday
The Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise
Platter Thursday
Frugal Follies’ Frugal Food Thursday
Cybele Pascal’s Allergy Friendly Friday
Hey thanks for you lovely words over at my darling lemon thyme Pat. I’ve really loved “meeting” you too!
These bars look lovely by the way, I’ve been thinking of making something very similar, something like an all-in-one breakfast kinda bar… xx
I’d love to see your ideas on it — especially the sugar. One of my childhood breakfast favorites was Mom’s oatmeal cookies with milk…not as healthy as some breakfasts, but that was way back when Frosted Flakes were a major food group. I’d like to see these bars with something healthier for the sweetener, or at least less of it.
Pat, I’m a big fan of dense bars like these. Mr. GFE would especially love them because he likes anything that has “oatmeal raisin” in the name.
Thanks for this recipe, dear!
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley — we like the flavors a lot, too, so much that being healthier is just a side benefit. Especially for my husband…I think he won’t eat something that is supposed to be “healthy.”
Oh these look good!! I just posted a recipe for Coconut Almond Bars – http://glutenfreelindsey.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/coconut-almond-energy-bars/
Hi Pat,
It is good to see you today. Oatmeal Raisin and Walnuts are a great combination of flavor and texture. This is a great recipe that we are going to really enjoy! They look delicious. Hope you are having a great summer. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and sure hope to see you again real soon!
Miz Helen
[...] Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars [...]
These do look good. I haven’t yet come up with the right replacement for the bars that both I and the teens like to eat (Larabars, Z-Bars, a few other kinds). This looks like a worthy candidate. I’d probably make it with coconut oil and coconut sugar. Does the garbanzo flour give it any beany flavor?
Coconut oil and coconut sugar would probably be really good in these bars — I like coconut, but I’m the only one in my family who does, so I don’t cook with it very often. We like the garbanzo flour — which does have a faint flavor but a pleasant one — better than rice flour, so I use it a lot. Thanks for stopping by!
[...] Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars [...]