Chewy Food Bars

Amy and I decided to make our own Food Bars right before the West Highland Way trip. And some kind of magical alchemy happened, because they came out great! They ended up being one of my favorite snacks on the trail (followed closely by the canned sardines, and some kind of pre-packaged indian meals... Okay, maybe that reveals something about my taste, so perhaps you should approach this recipe with caution). Here's what I can remember from the gist of it. There's probably lots of room for experimenting... suggestions in the comments are most welcome! The one thing I would suggest is to keep some variation of the syrup in there. It's handy for keeping the bars glued together and lending some structural integrity. If I recall correctly, these had about a 1-week shelf life, unrefrigerated. 

WET 

1 part nut butter (e.g., peanutbutter, almondbutter, or some mix) 

1 part brown rice (or barley malt) syrup vanilla 

DRY 

1 part buckwheat flour 

1 part oats 1/2 part ground flaxseed 

1/2 part coconut (or 1 part? hmm) cinnamon 

optional: few tsp of coffee grounds 

TASTY ADDITIONS 

1 part chocolate chips 

crushed walnuts 

Melt together the nut butter, syrup, and vanilla on low heat on the stove. Stir it into the mixed dry ingredients. If it's too dry, make and add more wet ingredients as needed. It should be a squishy dough; never liquid, just no dry parts. 

Butter and flour a pan (do this! verrrry sticky otherwise). Bake at 300F for 30 mins, or until not squooshing in the center. If it *is* still squooshy, consider baking a little longer on a lower heat (say, 250F). They'll harden up a little after cooling, too, but not much. You do want them chewy, though, and not dry or crunchy. :) 

Suggestion: after cutting bars, wrap individually in foil or plastic wrap.