A few month's ago I gave you a peak inside Cookies for Everyone!, a food allergy-friendly cookbook brought to life by Enjoy Life Foods. Cookie and bar lover that I am, I have already trialed and loved several of the recipes ... but, I was excited when Enjoy Life decided to release two of the recipes that I had taste-tested, so that I can share them with you here.

Though they still qualify as a sweet treat, these two recipes are suitable for an after-school (or work!) snack, and nutritious enough that you can feel virtuous about feeding them to your family, and of course, enjoy them guilt-free yourself! But best of all, they are extremely versatile. The recipes in Cookies for Everyone! were tested to be dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, and soy-free, making each of the recipes so easy to customize if your free-from needs aren't quite so restrictive. For example, you can use or make your favorite granola and/or trail mix (I used Enjoy Life brand for both) in the Granola Bar One Bites (recipe below), and choose soy butter, seed butter, peanut butter, nut butter (I used almond butter, yum!), or even pea butter for the Sunny Nature Snack Bites (recipe below). Did that make sense? No matter ... just enjoy the recipes ...

Granola Bar One-Bites

Recipe from Cookies for Everyone! by Leslie Hammond and Betsy Laakso; photo and two thumbs up by Alisa Fleming

ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white or brown rice flour or sorghum flour [such as Bob’s Red Mill]
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour [such as Bob’s Red Mill]
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/3 cups granola, any flavor [use Enjoy Life granola for gluten-free and food allergy-friendly]
• 1 cup trail mix, any flavor [use Enjoy Life Not Nuts! trail mix for gluten-free and food allergy-friendly]

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. With a mixer, cream together the first 7 ingredients (through vanilla).  Mix in flours and cinnamon until smooth.  Stir in granola and trail mix.  If desired, place granola in a plastic bag and gently crush with a rolling pin into bite-size pieces.  Spoon mixture into a greased 9-inch baking pan or greased mini muffin pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes if using the 9-inch baking pan or 20 minutes if using the mini muffin pan.  Cool and cut into small bars or remove from muffin pan.

Yield: 2 dozen

Sunny Nature Snack Bites

Recipe from Cookies for Everyone! by Leslie Hammond and Betsy Laakso; photo and two thumbs up by Alisa Fleming

ingredients:

• 1 large apple or firm pear
• 1/3 cup sunflower butter 
• 1 cup granola, any flavor, crushed [use Enjoy Life granola for gluten-free and food allergy-friendly]

directions:

1. Wash and core the apple.  Cut the apple into 8 sections or wedges.  Leave the peel on.  Set apple wedges on a plate, peel side down.

2. Spread a thin layer of sunflower butter on both sides of the apple wedge.

3. Sprinkle with granola.  Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 slices