Thursday, December 4, 2008

Gluten-Free Cinnamon and Cranberry Bars and other good stuff


With all of those cranberries left over from Thanksgiving, I had to make something. Inspired by a previous recipe (whose creator remains unknown, so give me a shout-out if it's you :), I decided to make these surprisingly lowfat bars.

Gluten-free breakfast bars are RIDICULOUSLY overpriced. They're like $6/box! You'd think they put flecks of gold in there, maybe even a lucky charm, but nope. I am always tempted to buy a box, just to have something to snack on when I'm too absorbed in something else (like this book which has even caused me to fall behind on my blog-reading) to bake, but I can't bring myself to purchase 5 dinky overpriced gluten-free cereal bars, knowing full well they aren't worth the money. It really doesn't cost that much to make them from scratch! So why not give it a go? I finally put the book down and did just that...

It's true. I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about, I'm actually reading Twilight. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to like this book. I figured it was going to be kinda boring, something like an overplayed pop song that really doesn't deserve the air time it gets. I WAS WRONG. This book is NOT boring, it actually has some substance. I'm impressed! There's more to it than just attractive vampires that smell better than your favorite batch of cookies. (Bella, I still don't know why they smell so good. In the book, I mean, not that I've ever met one :P!)

This is as good as LOTR when it comes to biblical analogies. I'm sure I'm probably getting some heads shaking back and forth, in disagreement, right about now. I don't want to get too English-majory in my analysis, so I'll just say these few things:

1. The book starts off with a Bible verse. Instant give-away.
2. Edward can only be around Bella SWAN when he's putting his evil vampire-ways aside. (<--- We have to overcome our carnal, selfish desires before we can love purely. Also, God can't be where sin is. Not that Bella is God, but you know what I mean. Swan=white=dove=Holy Spirit.) 3. Um...let's not forget about that part where Edward compares himself to a lion and Bella refers to herself as a lamb! C'mon, lion and lamb!

There are so many more, but I'll leave it at that. Like I said, I'm impressed...and I think I've just somewhat justified my reasons for losing sleep over this book and, I confess, actually getting sad that I'm almost finished reading it. I should get book 2 by this Saturday, thank God for Amazon Prime :) (free 2 day shipping!)!


Gluten-Free Cranberry Cinnamon Bars

Festive cookie-like breakfast bars

See Gluten-Free Cranberry Cinnamon Bars on Key Ingredient.

21 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Love those bars!!

Glad you're enjoying the series!!

Y said...

Those bars sound great! I've been curious about Twilight too, but have yet to pick up a copy. I gather you'll be watching the movie as well :)

Jay said...

I TOLD you that you would like the series. :) And, I was like you: I totally got into the symbolism of the book. The writer is Mormon, so that doesn't surprise me at all. Hey, if you like, I could always ship you the rest of the series so you don't have to wait. I am willing to let them go for awhile. ;)

And, yummy breakfast bars! :)

Anonymous said...

Yum! I need to try these eggless. :D

(And after months of protesting to my many friends and relatives that I would HATE Twilight, I got hooked and read all four books within 10 days. Ha.)

Anonymous said...

Loving your new Christmas graphics Soph!

These bars are perfect for my mother-in-law. Cheers!

grace said...

i had no idea that the twilight series had any connection to the bible. maybe i should give 'em a shot after all.
moving on, these are some stellar bars for many reasons, not the least of which is the presence of cinnamon. :)

Anonymous said...

hi there, fellow psychic. your bars look phenom!
I'm sorry I'm not dropping by more often these days, I'm cutting back on blog-hopping time and feeling like I'm missing out on tons of awesomeness. boo-hoo-hoo!

Mary Ann said...

Cranberries- how lovely. They are so good. These bars look like something we would really enjoy for breakfast, or any time of day for that matter. I also love your Thanksgiving spread. The butternut dish looks amazing.
Glad you are enjoying Twilight!

Snooky doodle said...

These look so nice and yummy :)

Mary said...

Your recipe very cool! Thanks!

Emily said...

Haha, welcome to the club!

The bars look gorgeous and so delicious!

Cheeky Kitchen said...

I adore your blog title! Clever! Clever!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and offering such NICE comments! I'm so glad you found me so that I could find you!

Deborah said...

I still haven't read Twilight. But then again, I haven't had much time to read anything lately...

I don't blame you for making your own bars instead of buying them. $6 a box is ridiculous, and I'm sure yours taste better!

Cakespy said...

Nicely presented...and delicious looking! I still must read those books too! I recently did a custom Twilight-themed piece of artwork and it made me even more curious!

Anonymous said...

My mother has celiac and would most definitely appreciate this recipe :).

Tracy said...

Those bars look sooo good...mmm...cinnamon an cranberry--huge faves! Love the festive look here too. I must be the only person not to have seen Twilight...LOL! Happy Days ((HUGS))

Maria said...

The bars look terrific!

Marysol said...

Sophie, I, literally, bought a truckload of cranberries last Thanksgiving.
I know, I also cringe when people mindlessly use the word 'literally.'
But, I really did buy a truckload of cranberries ;-Þ

Anyway, I'd love to give your recipe a try; I think my kids would love it.

Katie said...

Twilight is the best! I never realized that it was chock-full of biblical references, but Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon, so I'm not surprised.

The bars look great!

Alexa said...

Awesome bars Sophie... The ones at the store not only cost a lot but they taste so mediocre. I'll have to try these soon!

Unknown said...

Hey Sophie! I left something on my blog for you. :)