No Bake Chocolate Dream Bars

This pic was taken yesterday and now the pan is nearly empty. They are THAT good. I’m also the ONLY one eating them. Which I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I like having a tray full of chocolate dream bars to myself, but on the other, sharing helps out with portion control.

But first, a trip to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. I can’t help myself. The roses are in bloom and they are gorgeous.

Check out that sky, and all those blooms. Can you believe this garden oasis is in Brooklyn?

Both Bunky and Little Guy love to stop and smell the roses. It is pretty adorable (except for the bees swarming everywhere, which is really just an accident waiting to happen). I especially love Little Guy’s funny scrunched up nose face when he “sniffs.” It’s very dramatic and not properly captured here, but you get the idea:

Look closely for the tell-tale scrunch nose.

And check out my girl, in total rose rapture.

I thought the pose looked familiar and then I did a search online and realized it looks just like THIS piece of art which I studied in college during my obsession with Pre-Raphaelites.

The Soul of the Rose by John Williams Waterhouse

Pretty crazy, right? We all enjoyed smelling the roses and enjoying the rest of the garden, especially the Japanese garden which has a lake filled with koi fish. We had to restrain Little Guy from diving in.

We’ve been venturing out more lately, as our family of four is way more portable now that Little Guy nearly 20 months. This past Saturday we went to Coney Island, braving both heat and crowds – and a complete dearth of gluten free food. More on that in an upcoming post, but now it’s time for these no bake beauties…

Run, do not walk to this recipe, lightly adapted from a gem I spied on Pinterest. I love how recipes are like nesting dolls, my version was adapted from this one, this version was adapted from that one, and so forth. The big change in mine was using almond butter instead of PB. Can I tell you a secret? Please don’t hold it against me, but I’m finally realizing that I just don’t like peanut butter. I can’t even stand the smell. It’s strange, I used to love peanut butter, but once I got a taste of almond butter (specifically Justin’s brand) I officially dumped PB for AB and haven’t looked back since.

These No Bake Chocolate Dream Bars are filled with GF oats, coconut oil, coconut flakes, honey and of course, chocolate. Plus you don’t have to turn on your oven. How can you possibly go wrong?

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almond butter (I used Justin’s Honey AB)
• 1/2 cup honey (maple syrup for vegan)
• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
• 2 cups GF oats
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup chopped pecans, nut of choice, or no nuts (use rice cereal or pretzel pieces)
• 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Grease a 9×13 pan with coconut oil.
2. Place the oats, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips in a large bowl, and stir to combine.
3. Heat the almond butter, honey and coconut oil together until the coconut oil is mostly melted. Don’t let the honey boil. (TIP: To prevent honey from sticking to your measuring cup, grease it with coconut oil and then it will slide right out.)
4. Pour the heated almond butter mixture onto the oat mixture, and stir until the chocolate chips are melted.*
5. Evenly spread the mixture in a greased 9×13 pan.
6. Cover and refrigerate until hardened. Or put it in the freezer if you can’t wait like me.
7. Cut into bars, enjoy, and refrigerate the leftovers for up to one week (if they last that long!)

* There may be a moment during the mixing process when you wonder, will the chocolate actually melt? And if you’re like me you might get worried and dump in more chocolate chips, but the answer is YES, the chocolate will melt, but more chips are never a bad thing, either.

I’m happy to have shared this post at the Gluten-Free Friday’s link up party hosted by Vegetarian Mamma. Click the link to find more great GF recipes!