Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookie Bars

OATMEAL COOKIE BARS 

(Gluten-Free)

INGREDIENTS

  2 cups gluten-free flour mixture
  2 cups gluten- free rolled oats
  1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  ½ teaspoon salt
  2 sticks salted butter, melted and slightly cooled (16 Tbsp)
  12 oz semisweet/milk chocolate chips
35 soft caramel candies
6 Tbsp milk


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter, let it cool, and pour into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until a soft dough forms. It should be crumbly. If your dough is too wet and heavy, add a little more flour until the dough is crumbly.
2. Grease* the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Press ¾ of the dough into a 9x13 baking dish. Put aside the remaining ¼ for topping. Bake for about 15-17 minutes. (Gluten-Free flours don't brown like wheat flour does.) 
3. While crust is baking, unwrap caramels and melt in the microwave with the cream. Microwave at 15 second intervals and stir until the mixture is smooth and pourable. (You also can do this step in a double-boiler.)
4. Spread the entire 12 oz bag chocolate chips (minus the few you ate :-) over the baked crust. (They will start to melt if you pour them over the hot crust and that is OK.) Pour the melted caramel over the chocolate chips. Crumble the remaining dough with our hands and cover the entire top of the cookie creating a top "crust" (Do not press this crust down). 
5. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, (Remember it won't turn brown like wheat flour does.) Let it sit and completely cool. It needs to be completely cooled off to be able to cut into bars. Eat! Yummy!

*Gluten-free baked goods tend to stick to the pan. We use a homemade "cake release" recipe to grease our pans. You mix together; 1 cup gluten-free flour mixture, 1 cup shortening, 3/4 vegetable oil. Mix together and store in an airtight container. Coat the bottom the sides with this release.

 Step 1: Gather all the ingredients

(forgot the salt in this picture)

Step 2: Add the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Be sure to sift flour first.

Step 3: Pour melted butter over dry ingredients and stir together.

Step 4: Grease the bottom of the pan with "cake release."* 

Press mixture into the bottom of the pan to make crust. Bake crust.

Step 5: Cover entire crust with chocolate chips

Step 6: Melt caramels and pour over top of chocolate chips

Step 7: Cover the entire top with crumbled dough as a top crust 

(Do not press it down)

Step 8: Let it completely cool before cutting. 

ENJOY!!

My favorite gluten-free restaurants

*Disclaimer*

This is based on my opinion and my own personal experiences. I am not being paid to share this.

     I have been on a gluten-free diet since January of 2007. When I started this diet no one had a clue what gluten was. It made going out to eat VERY difficult. I spent many hours explaining just how I needed my food to be prepared. One time I went to a restaurant and asked for no croutons and instructed that they make the Caesar salad in a clean, new bowl. When I got the salad it looked fine. I started eating it and got down to the bottom. EEK! There were croutons on the bottom on the salad. UGH. REALLY?? Since then I have always carried the enzymes called Gluten-Ease with me in my purse. It doesn't stop all the ill-effects I get from the cross contamination, but it does mitigate the effects. Once it pulled me out of a what looked like a "drunken" fog. I hadn't had a drink, but the gluten messed up my brain. I couldn't even remember what money was or how to drive. My sister-in-law was with me and drive us home. She said if I didn't know what was wrong with you, I would have thought you were totally wasted. Scary!

     From years of experimenting and either failing or succeeding, I have learned where I can and can not eat at. My all-time favorite sit-down restaurant is Outback Steakhouse. 

     Whenever I go out to dinner, we go to Outback. It is a running joke amongst my friends, "So... where are we going this time?" LOL! Everyone knows that it where I go out 99% of the time. I prefer Outback because I can order the Outback Special. It is $9.99 for a 6oz sirloin steak and two sides. I usually get a baked potato and a Caesar Salad, unless I am eating really healthy and than I get the steamed broccoli. I have ordered the Aussie Cheese Fries for years and never have reacted. Outback doesn't say they are gluten-free but from my experience I have always been ok. That is NOT to say they are "healthy" but they sure do taste good! 

     I am a hot-foods person. I feel much better when I eat a hot meal. Plus I have learned that I need to eat animal protein at every meal. I have tried so many different diets and have come to know what works for me. Outback provides an expensive, protein-based, healthier meal (especially if you get the salad and broccoli.) 

     The next best thing about Outback is it is the only restaurant that i have been to that has a gluten-free dessert that isn't just ice cream or fruit. The Chocolate Thunder From Down Under is a flour-less, gluten-free brownie with nuts. It has a huge scoop of ice cream, fresh whipped cream, and chocolate shavings on it. It is definitely too much to eat alone. So I only get it when I have people to share it with.

     Outback has a specific Gluten-Free menu if you ask for it. I get the same thing every time because I LOVE it. So my motto is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"There are other gluten-free products they made

     Whenever you go out to eat, always make sure you inform the server that you have a gluten allergy. Restaurants are getting much better at knowing about gluten issues. Not all, but many. 

     I was told by our local Outback Manager that the Outback staff is trained on allergies and how to handle them. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it sure puts my mind more at east knowing everyone is trained about gluten-free procedures.

Gluten-Free Menu

Outback Steakhouse Website

Gluten-free Cripsy Brown Rice Treats

Gluten-Free Crispy Brown Rice Treats

Rice Krispie Treats is one of my favorite desserts. My mother used to make a batch for my younger brother and I, so when we got home from school, we had a sweet treat. 

My older brother was deployed in Desert Storm while I was in middle school. He was stationed in Bahrain. I knew he loved them too, so I made a batch to send to him. Then I ate that batch, so I made another batch, and once again ate that batch. (Bad sister!) It took about 4 months to finally get a batch I didn't eat and send it to him! 

So you can tell, I LOVE these sweet, crunchy treats. Here's the kicker; Rice Krispies have barley malt on them as a sweetener. Barley has gluten in it, so I no longer could make and eat one of my favorite treats. Til I found Erewhon's Organic Crispy Brown Rice- it is GLUTEN-FREE!! I was thrilled! You can't buy it from the regular grocery store, so I have to get them from our local health food store or Whole Foods. Here is a delicious picture of my favorite dessert that I am getting to eat tonight. My husband and I are going to watch the pre-season Colts game that we DVR'd and eat my dessert! I LOVE that I can find the products I have always loved and now can still eat!

P.S. I love my Pampered Chef flower plate! Isn't it pretty!