The Fabulous Present Glo Bar!

For years I've been following the Oh She Glows blog for tasty, foodie-worthy vegan recipes.  I'll admit, some of the recipes are too healthy for me, and since I still do eat meat, a bit unnecessary.  However, many of the recipes are delightful so when I saw the cookbook at Costco for $16.99, I couldn't resist!  In the book are recipes for two different glo bars:  classic glo bar and present glo bar. I much prefer the latter, which features dried cranberries, pepitas and pecans.  (Note an ingredient theme from my last post?)  These bars are held together by brown rice syrup, which is readily available at Loblaws in the organic aisles.  I tried it with honey, but they just didn't adhere as well.  Give them a try, and maybe even pick up the cookbook when you're next at Costco!

Present Glo Bars

1/2 c pecans, finely chopped
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 1/4 c rice crisp cereal
1/4 c pepita seeds
1/4 c dried cranberries
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c plus 1 tbsp brown rice syrup (or 1/4 c plus 1 tbsp brown rice syrup and 1/4 c honey)
1/4 c almond butter or peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a 9 inch square or 9x12 rectangular pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to come up over the edges of the pan.
Spread the pecans evenly on a cookie sheet and toast them in oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown.  Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine oats, rice cereal, pepita seeds, cranberries, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in cooled toasted pecans.
In a small saucepan, stir together brown rice syrup and nut butter until smooth.  Cook over medium heat until it softens and bubbles slightly.  Keep an eye on it or it will burn!  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Pour the nut butter mixture over the oat mixture, using a spatula to get every bit.  Stir until the dry ingredients are coated.  It'll be sticky and hard to stir.  
Transfer to the prepared pan, spreading out evenly.  With lightly moistened hands, pat the mixture down to even it out.  Use a pasty roller to press it down evenly, keeping your eye on the edges to ensure they're flat.  
Place the pan in the freezer, uncovered, and chill for 10 minutes until set.
Lift the square (or rectangle) out using the parchment paper handles.  Place on cutting board and cut with knife or pizza roller into 12-16 bars.
The original recipe recommends to individually wrap the bars, but I just stack them in a container in the fridge.  They'll keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to a month in the freezer, but they for sure won't last that long!