Welcome to October! Here’s a delightfully unusual sunflower from my sister’s garden for you.
You’re welcome.
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I just love the sunny disposition of the sunflower!
I can’t help but smile when I see them. Especially entire fields of them. They literally take my breath away.
I dream of giant azure vases filled with these yellow plumes, haphazardly scattered across my kitchen and dining room with abandon. There’s a good chance Michael Buble is blaring in these dreams. And there’s chocolate. Always chocolate.
But considering only 1 of the 49 giant sunflower seeds sweet Bean and I lovingly sprouted and then planted survived, it shall remain just that. A dream.
Between the deer making a snack of the seedlings and my husband unknowingly rototilling the remaining few…they didn’t have a snowballs chance in Namibia.
It was a tragic day, my friends. Good thing I’m such a gracious, benevolent wife. Ahem.
I console myself over such tragedy with the next best thing. Chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
Yes, that’s right. I’m one smart cookie, folks. Just candy coat your problems in chocolate. not really.
But seeing my kids were the excuse for buying these delectable little gems, I shared.
In the form of little Gooey Granola Bar Bites.
Ooooh aaaah. Aren’t they so pretty?
I just love those colors {and flavors} together!
Simply smoosh these ingredients together (in the order below) and devour.
Gooey Granola Bar Bites
Ingredients:
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2 cups of Old Fashioned Oatmeal
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5 cups of Rice Krispies
- 1 cup of honey
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1/2 cup of maple syrup
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1 cup of peanut butter
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3/4 cups of almond butter (or simply use more PB)
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1 teaspoon of cinnamon
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2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup of wheat germ
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans or almonds (optional)
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1/4 cup of finely chopped dried apricots or other dried fruit (optional)
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3/4 cup of chocolate covered sunflower seeds (or mini chocolate chips)
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2 tablespoon of flax seeds
Directions:
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Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the honey, syrup, peanut butter, almond butter and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
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In a large bowl, toss the oatmeal, rice krispies, wheat germ, nuts, dried fruit and half of the chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
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Stir in the peanut butter mixture so everything is evenly distributed and moist. Pack snuggly into the baking dish and sprinkle with flax seeds and remaining chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
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Refrigerate until set, then cut into bars.
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Find excuses to eat them…for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.
This recipe can be played with adapted in so many different ways {think white chocolate chips and cranberries}, so just have fun. I was inspired by this recipe and simply played with it from there.
Just remember to take a moment of silence for my sunflowers while you’re chowing.
Thank you and amen.
