101 Cookbook’s Big Sur Power Bars

My husband won’t shut up about these power bars. It’s gotten quite annoying, really. Yes, they are good. Yes, they are addicting. Yes, the espresso powder mixture is genius. Still. Be quiet, already! To make matters worse, I made my own version of Big Sur Power Bars, called Pacific Northwest Power Bars, and he told me to stick with the original. OUCH! To be honest though, I kind of preferred my version. They were pretty! They had color! But he’s right—they need refining. Maybe I will try again next week. There are a few specific things that I’d like to do differently… For one, I’d like to figure out how to make a less sticky version. Swanson uses brown rice syrup, which I like because it’s much healthier than say, corn syrup. But boy is it sticky! I usually make granola bars using honey, but they don’t always hold together well. The ingredients *will* hold together with the brown rice syrup, but almost too well. I cut them into individual bars and put them in a cookie jar. Bad news. It was one big lump in the morning. I ended up re-spreading the mixture, cutting them again, and wrapping the individual bars in wax paper. I want a crunchier bar, so it’s back to the kitchen…

In the meantime, head over to 101 Cookbooks, and watch Heidi make Big Sur Power Bars. Clicky.