five seed almond bars

Pin It I love to decipher and reverse engineer recipes -- whenever I taste something yummy out and about, I always say smugly to my friends "I bet I could make this at home for much cheaper." This is exactly what happened when my mom brought home a bag of Five Seed Almond Bars from Trader Joes. If you want to go out and buy these amazing bars of goodness, you can find them in a little white bag near the biscotti, but if you want to make them yourself... keep reading.

These bars are delicious and healthy.

Delicious: These bars are moist, nutty, with just a hint of cloves. They have a satisfying chewiness, kind of like a oatmeal cookie. Their warm, spicy aroma reminds me of gingerbread or spice cookies. Basically these bars are the love child of a gingerbread man and a chewy bar.

Healthy: These bars have 53 mg of omega 3 fatty acids, and each bar has only around 110 calories and is full of delicious, healthy fats.

Have you ever reverse-engineered a recipe?
With love,
Erica

Ingredients
 
1 cup raisins
1 1/8 cup flour (I used sprouted whole grain flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup quick oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup flax oil (or you could use olive oil, or any other oil you have on hand)
1 cup of seed mix: flax, sesame, pumpkin, poppy, sunflower (or any dried fruit or nut mix)
1/3 cup slivered toasted almonds

Measure out the seed and almonds in a small bowl, so that you can quickly add them later.
Put the first set of dry ingredients in a food processor or a mixer and blend for 30 seconds, until the raisins are finely chopped (if using a mixer, pound the raisins the old fashioned way in a ziploc to form a paste). Add the liquid ingredients next. Be sure to use melted butter, otherwise the mixture will be too stiff. Processor for about 30 seconds until a ball forms. Immediately add the nut mixture and lightly blend to mix (rather than pulverize).
Place mixture on in a 9x13 baking pan lined with parchment paper. Spread evenly to the corners of the paper.
Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. It will be very soft and harden as it cools. Let cool a bit, then cut into bars and let cool completely.

Adapted from Seed Sprout Savor