These Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Snack Bars were inspired by Pamela’s Whenever Bars. My family enjoys the oat-based bars and find that they are a filling snack. Lemon-blueberry is their favorite flavor, so when my college commuting son needed more on-the-go snack options, I decided to make something similar.
Besides wanting to save money with a homemade recipe, I also need to avoid all gums for him. These are not as soft and cookie like as Whenever Bars, but they do have the same flavors. They are more like a granola bar, but not exactly that either.
I wrap these up in wax paper for my son to easily eat between classes, and he says they hold together well enough. I have not tried this with xanthan gum. It would probably work in place of the psyllium husk, or you could possibly make it without either.
These snack bars make a great addition to my roundup of gluten-free lunch ideas posted last week.
Lemon Blueberry Snack Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free oats (regular or quick)
- 1/2 cup rice flour (white or brown)
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch or flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon psyllium husk
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and 8 x 8 inch baking pan.
- In a bowl, mix together the oats, rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut sugar, phyllium, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the egg, extracts, oil, and honey. Stir together until all the flour is moistened.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Spread evenly in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan and place on a cooling rack. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Notes
This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9 x 13 inch pan.
These look and sound great, Linda! I love using wax paper. It was all that used to be used or school lunches and such long ago.
Sharing the recipe and will have to feature it on All Gluten-Free Desserts soon. Thanks!
Shirley
Linda, THANK YOU for the back to school posts!! I desperately need them! 3 Questions: 1- I’m trying to stay away from rice products due to arsenic issues yet most recipes include some sort of rice flour. Could you recommend an alternative to rice flour for this recipe (and in general?) 2- Do you by chance happen to have any idea how much protein might be in the bars?? And 3- I’ve been searching high and low for a recipe for a general flour blend that, again, does not include rice flour (ex: flour for pumpkin bread or maybe cookies) that I could make up myself – desperate for that! Any help MUCH appreciated!!
Hi Sheli. I’m glad I can help you with back to school ideas. As for this recipe, sorghum and millet flour work well in place of rice flour, though millet is not as heavy and sometimes requires a tad more flour than a recipe calls for. I don’t know how much protein is in the bars. I know there are sites that can help figure that out. Here’s is a link to a blog post about flour mixes. There are two sorghum blends from Carol Fenster listed there that do not use rice flour. http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/gluten-free-flour-mixes/
Hi Linda,
I Think I told you this before but just in case I didn’t ! I have had Celiac since the 60’s. Back then they didn’t know what it was. So I suffered pretty good. I also had DH (skin rash). I was on 100 mg. of Dapsone, (0ne a day) Untill I found out that it had to do with gluten. I have not taken a pill since Jan. of 2013. I hope this might help someone with DH. By the way I am 87 yrs. old.
I am going to try this recipe but I would like to know if you could use regular blueberries?
Thanks Linda
My uncle was diagnosed in 1965. He was in the army, and after suffering for a while they did finally figure it out. I don’t think fresh blueberries would work well in this recipe because of their moisture, but you could substitute raisins or other small dried fruit like cranberries or cherries.