Holiday Bars (AIP, Paleo)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… everywhere you look!

I am so excited to start off December with my first holiday recipe! I use to make a version of these holiday bars in my pre-AIP days and I absolutely loved them. I wanted to try and create something similar and so this recipe was born!

I used cassava flour for this recipe but I think that arrowroot and tiger nut flour or coconut flour would also work, although I haven’t tested it. If you are in Canada you can get Cassava flour from well.ca and naturamarket.ca  If you are in the USA then you can order from lots of different sites, I usually order from iherb or vitacost. You can also get palm shortening from naturamarket.ca 

Toppings- feel free to use whatever toppings you like! I have used dried cherries, toasted coconut flakes and orange zest. This time I opted for carob chocolate chips (I used this recipe from flame to fork), dried cranberries and peeled tiger nuts. I made sure to chop everything up into bite sized pieces, especially the tigernuts. You do have to take your time pressing the toppings into the dough so that they stick and don’t fall off when you go to eat serve them.

I used a mixture of honey and coconut palm sugar in this recipe because I don’t do well with too much coconut palm sugar but you can use one or the other. These are not very sweet so if you are looking for something really sweet then you will want to add more honey or coconut sugar. You can also choose to drizzle some melted coconut butter on top mixed with a little honey!

Happy December! I can’t wait to share my new holiday recipes with you, as well as some of my blogger favorites!

XO Meagen Ashley

*This recipe has been shared on the Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable

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Holiday Bars (AIP, Paleo)

Holiday bars that are festive with cranberries, chopped tiger nuts and carob chips!

Course Dessert, Snacks

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 20 bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey or coconut palm sugar add more if you want a sweeter bar
• 3/4 cup palm shortening
• 1 tsp alcohol free vanilla
• 2 cups cassava flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp grass fed gelatin red can
• 1/2 cup water for the gelatin egg
• 1/4 cup Carob Chips
• 1/4 cup peeled and chopped tiger nuts
• 1/4 cup diced dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with a little bit of coconut oil.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the honey or coconut sugar, palm shortening and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the cassava flour, salt, and baking soda.
4. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients. Mix using the electric mixer (the dough will seem dry at this point because we have not added the gelatin egg yet).
5. Prepare the gelatin egg. Put 1/2 cup of water into a small sauce pan and sprinkle the gelatin over top of the water and allow it to bloom for about 5 minutes. Then turn the heat onto medium low until all of the gelatin has melted. Whisk quickly until it is nice and frothy and then pour it into the dough mix. Stir by hand to fully incorporate (work quickly).
6. Scoop the dough up with your hands and put it onto the lined baking sheet. Try to make a rectangle by spreading the dough out with your fingers (wet your fingers to keep the dough from sticking). Make sure the dough is still thick enough that you can press the toppings into it.
7. Push the toppings of your choice (carob chips, tiger nuts, cranberries) into the dough. Press with your pointer fingers one topping at a time to ensure they are firmly pressed into the dough.
8. Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour. Move to a cutting board and slice into 20-24 squares.
10. Store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.