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Saturday, October 27, 2007

Copycat Clif Z-Bars

Well, actually the recipe was called Easy No Bake Cookies (more like brownies, if you ask me.) Cookies that aren't baked just didn't sound right. But it had good reviews and I was looking to use up my instant chocolate pudding mixes. So I gave them a try. They were supposed to be dropped like cookies, but that was just too much work so I threw them into a brownie pan and just cut them up. The appealing part of the recipe was that it called for oats, rather than flour. Turned out like brownies, but healthier (?). The kids say they taste like the Z-Bars made by Clif Bars, so I ran a calorie count. For the same size bar, a Z-Bar was 120 calories vs. 260 for mine. I think this might be a good base for an energy bar for David. For those of you out there who'd like to give it a try, here's the recipe. Very easy to make and loaded with energy!


Mix together in a large pan:



1c sugar

3/4 c butter

2/3c milk

Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.



Turn off heat and add:



1 (3.9 oz) pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

3.5 - 4 c oats

1/2 t vanilla



Mix well, cover and let stand 10 minutes. Then drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper, or press into a pan and cut after cool.



The recipe said different flavored pudding mixes can be used for variety. Also, I used sugar-free mix since that's what I had, but had I used regular mix, the calorie count probably would of been higher. Next time I might add some nuts or dried fruit. I'm pretty happy I came across this one.


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