Cake Batter Protein Bars (with endless variations)!

Holy Moly these are amazing!

I made a whole pan of these before a road trip and I just wished I had made more- they were gone the next day.

I got the recipe here, but changed it a bit (see below). I loved that my son who hates oatmeal is getting the whole, raw, oats (ground up) in these without even knowing it! I did put a few sprinkles on top so they would appeal even more to my son, although next time I will be using the naturally colored kind that I just saw at Whole Foods!

3 cups brown rice crispies
1 cup packed oat flour (ground in my Vita Mix from oat groats, or blend in your blender from rolled oats)
1/2 cup protein powder (Garden of Life Raw Vanilla- the best! Or just put in oat flour here)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla (alcohol free kind, from Trader Joe's)
3/4 cup raw almond butter (or other nut butter)
3/4 cup sticky sweetener (I have been using 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup raw honey)
(I have been adding in a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed, and wheat germ lately and they are still great!)
Add ins/Variations: see note below

Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Then pour the dry into the wet and combine really well. Press into a rectangular pan lined with parchment paper (for easy removal). Chill, then cut into bars.  I keep mine in the freezer individually wrapped and take out whenever I want one (they are so nice straight from the freezer- a perfectly chewy texture). Yum!

Update July 2014: I wanted to use less sweetener, so I substituted 1/4 coconut oil for 1/4 of the sweetener. So I ended up using: 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup raw honey (instead of 3/4 cup sweetener).

Note: We have been experimenting with lots of different kinds of bars lately, so here is what we love so far. Let me know what you come up with too!

Sprinkle bars: Top with naturally colored sprinkles
*Strawberry bars: Add 1 1/2 cups freeze-dried strawberries (chopped)
Tropical bars: Add 1 cup freeze-dried mangoes (chopped) and 1/2 cup coconut
Fruity bars: Add 1 1/2 cups of any of your favorite freeze-dried or regular dried fruit!
Cinnamon bars: Add 2 Tbsp cinnamon
Chocolate chip bars: Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Luna bars: Make chocolate (from coconut oil recipe here) and pour over the top of chilled bars in pan (uncut). After chilled and set, remove and cut.

*Update: My son just requested a Strawberry Bar Cake for his birthday! (For the frosting I will be adding chocolate from my coconut oil recipe on top and of course some naturally colored sprinkles). To see what I came up with for his cake, click here.