Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars

Hope everyone had a good Food Allergy Awareness Week last week. There was definitely some great information floating around...and great allergy-friendly recipes!

Since it was a bit warmer this weekend I decided to try a new "no bake" recipe so I didn't have to turn on my oven.  Even though this recipe IS no bake, I don't want to officially name it no bake since you have to warm some of the ingredients in a pot for a few minutes. However, I still didn't have to turn on my oven!  

This decadent recipe for Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars was inspired by this recipe, which I doubled. The bars I made are sweet, chewy and a little crunchy. They're definitely more of a dessert than a granola bar, but either way, they sure do make my mouth happy :)

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars: Sweet, chewy and a little crunchy

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats 
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 2/3 cup cereal (I used Uncle Sam's wheat flakes which are not gluten-free, but you can use any gluten free cereal option - Rice Krispies, Cornflakes, Corn or Rice Chex, etc.)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (I used Trader's Joe's) or another oil like organic canola oil
• 1 cup Sunbutter (or any nut butter that's safe for you)
• 2/3 cup honey

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bar Ingredients

Directions:

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
• Melt the coconut oil, Sunbutter and honey in a saucepan on the stove for a few minutes
• Add melted mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well
• Pour everything into an 8 x 8 pan lined with wax paper (for easier cutting and clean-up)
• Refrigerate for a few hours, cut and enjoy!

Here are the bars after they had been in the refrigerator for 3 hours. So easy to let them "cook" in the fridge!

The bars also cut so nicely with a big kitchen knife. I just lifted the wax paper out of the pan and cut the bars into squares.

YUM.

I wrapped the remaining bars (and there aren't many!) in wax paper and I'm storing them in the fridge. They'd probably hold up nicely in the freezer which I may try next time.

So, my weekend was filled with food (yummy chocolate coconut oat bars included), family and fun!  We all enjoyed the rides and sights at a local festival.  See goofy pictures below :)

What kind of fun did you have this weekend?  Any yummy creations or good eating in general?