Nutty & Decadent Quinoa Bars

For the Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment.

In the food processor, grind almonds and palm sugar. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Process until combined. Add butter and pulse five or six times. Add egg and process until dough forms large clumps.

Using your hands, press dough into the prepared pan on the bottom and one inch up the sides. Using fork tines, press the crust all over.

Bake for 15 or 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

For the Topping

Rinse quinoa and allow to completely dry. If you are in a hurry dry the quinoa in a saucepan over low. Put one tablespoon of oil in a popcorn popper. Add quinoa and pop until seeds are golden brown. Alternatively, pop quinoa in a covered saucepan, shaking to prevent burning.

Bring sugar, butter, honey and salt to a boil over medium high heat. Stir often. Carefully add cream and return to a boil. Remove from heat and add nuts, sunflower seeds and popped quinoa. Pour over crust and spread to even out. If necessary, tilt pan to get mixture to the edges. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and run a knife around edges. Let cool completely and invert pan on a flat service. Cut into 24 bars.

Now, a couple of adjustments that could be made:

Lower the Saturated Fat- You can half the butter and replace the other halve with canola oil.

Make it Vegan by using earth balance and your favorite egg substitute.  Skip the honey and use maple syrup.

Make it Gluten Free by using your favorite gluten free flour mix.

Credit: Wendy Polisi