Healthy Snack Bars

Long ago, someone gave me a recipe for something called Hello Dolly cookies.  I have no idea where the recipe came from, or who invented it, but they were pretty easy to make: a graham cracker crumb base with chocolate chips and coconut on top that was baked.

I think I made them once.  Mostly because pretty much everyone in my family hates coconut.

Recently, my mother suggested that I make those cookies.  The woman can’t remember what day of the week it is (nor can I most days), but she remembers a one-time recipe from 1000 years ago that she hated.  And wants it again.  Even though she still hates coconut.

It did, however, get me thinking about them, and how I would love to remake them so that when I offered them to people, they didn’t back away like I was offering them a plate of gunpowder with a one-inch lit fuse.

Naturally, I wanted to make it healthier than the original, so I created the crust from my graham cracker granola, and added all kinds of toppings: hemp, walnuts, cashew, cranberries, vegan chocolate chips, and of course, coconut.  I even found a replacement for the super suggery can of condensed milk.

The first batch was a disaster.  It fell apart straight out of the pan and looked like a trailer park after a tornado had visited. Batch number two, stayed together…sort of. The bottom stayed together, and the top stayed together, they just didn’t stay together, together.  Batch number three I nailed, if I do say so myself.  Everyone, and by everyone, I mean anyone I was able to talk into trying it especially if they had seen the first disaster. So everyone except Tim.

“These look good!” he said as I was cutting them into bars.

He reached around me to grab one and pulled back like he’d been stung by a scorpion. “Is that coconut?” he demanded.

“Yes, but there’s also nuts and chocolate and…” and I was talking to thin air. He was out of there faster than the dog when she hears the word “Bath”.

Batch number four was made without coconut.  Sigh.

If you have a coconut hater or walnut hater or (gasp) chocolate hater, you can just substitute 1/3 of a cup of whatever they do like  or double up on their favorite ingredient.  Don’t just leave it out and add the same amount of milk or the final product will be too gooey. 

Ingredients:

• 1  1/2 (packed) graham cracker crumbs –see recipe below
• 4 Tablespoons vegan butter
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (Do NOT use salted)
• 1/3 cup chopped cashews (Do NOT use salted)
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup cranberries
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup hulled hemp hearts
• 4 dates, pitted
• 3/4 cup almond milk

Graham Cracker Crumbs:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon molasses
• 3 Tablespoons (vegan) honey
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:

1. To make the graham cracker crumbs, combine the oats, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk the oil, molasses, honey and syrup. Pour the wet mixture over the oats and stir until well combined. Spread out on a baking pan. Bake at 250 for 1 hour.  Allow to cool and then put into blender or grinder and process to fine crumbs.  Turn the oven temperature up to 350 to make the bars.
2. Put 1  1/2 cups of crumbs into a small bowl.  Melt the butter and stir it into the crumbs until the mixture resembles wet sand.  Press into an 8×8 inch baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper.  Alternatively line 2 dozen mini-muffin tins with liners and press the crumbs into the bottom of each cup.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts, cashews, chips, coconut, cranberries and hemp.  Mix well to combine.
4. In a high speed blender, process the dates and almond milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Pour over the nut mixture and stir well.  Spoon the mixture over the crumbs in the pan, or divide them evenly into the mini muffin tins.
5. Bake the treats in the pan for 30 minutes, and the treats in the muffin tins for 15 minutes.  Cool before serving.

Enjoy!