You guys, baking is my Achilles heel. For some reason it’s always really hard for me. But it’s cold out today, and rainy, and there’s football on, and it really just seemed like the kind of day when I should bake something. You ever get those days?
The problem, of course, was what to bake. I live somewhere around 6,200 feet which means many recipes can be a challenge. So, I turned to my pal April’s blog: Epicurean Vegan. She’s a Coloradan like me and knows a thing or two about baking (unlike me). I decided to make her Chai-Spiced Berry-Oatmeal cookies, and got to work in the kitchen.
I’m pretty sure you can guess what happened next. I ruined them.
But! I didn’t give up! I kept trying and before I knew it, I had some very delicious Chewy Cherry Chai Oatmeal Bars in my tummy!
They came out perfectly. They’re sweet, but not too sweet because I used Truvia’s two new products. A baking blend, which is part sugar and part truvia, and their brown sugar blend with is (obvs) brown sugar mixed with truvia. That way you get the taste of real sugar, but without all the calories.
Which really just means you can eat more, right? Here’s a shot of the bar before I chopped him up:
Also, Truvia had contacted me and offered so provide some free product for a giveaway, and you know how much I love passing the goodies along to you! So, here’s what’s up for grabs: One 16oz resealable(!) bag of Truvia’s Brown Sugar Blend so you can get your baking on! You can enter to win those in the rafflecopter below. Truvia is also currently running their own contest called the Baking Star. There’s only two more days left to enter that, but you can vote until the 29th. Go check it out!
So, check out my recipe and then scroll down and enter the giveaway!
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds, plus 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Truvia brown sugar blend
- 1/4 cup Truvia baking blend
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons agave
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 cup old fashioned oats (not quick!)
- 1 cup dried cherries
- Preheat oven to 350. Mix chia seeds and water and set aside.
- With a mixer, blend the butter and the sugars. Add the chia mix, vanilla and agave and mix for another 15-30 seconds.
- In a second bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except the oats and cherries. Slowly add the butter bowl, mixing until combined and smooth. Using a large spoon or spatula fold in the oats and cherries.
- Line a 9" bread pan with foil and spoon in the oatmeal bar mix. It's thick so you have to kind of smoosh it into the corners. Baked until it starts to brown at the edges, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the pan by grabbing the edges of the foil and place the whole thing on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes before cutting into rectangles. Once completely cool, store in airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Keep in mind, this recipe was developed waaaaay up high!
*I was provided with free product to review but the opinions are 100% mine!
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These are drool-worthy! I love oatmeal bars, especially when they’re soft and chewy. Oh my goodness. Yum!
All I can say is yummy!!!
I think that biscotti is super fun to make
I love to make gooey brownies
I like to bake breads and muffins. Lately it’s been banana muffins with chocolate chips, but pumpkin raisin is next on the list.
I love making birthday cakes, but when it isn’t someone’s birthday, I like making breakfast-y things like muffins, scones, or coffee cake.
I love baking breads! I’ve been experimenting with yeasted and sourdough varieties!
Those bars look good! I like to bake with pumpkin right about now…but who doesn’t?!
Mm..Healthy cookies. I’ve been enjoying breakfast bars lately, and was thinking carrots might be a yummy addition too!
I love to bake macarons! But i am not sure if Truvia would work since we need real sugar for the meringue to turn out right.
I love the idea of a stevia-sugar blend!
I like to bake banana bread. I always have bananas in my freezer so I can make the bread whenever I want to.
I like to bake muffins or banana bread.