Nutty Cranberry Apricot Trail Mix Clusters

This recipe works great as a snack as well as a cereal.  Once dried, crumble the clusters into a bowl along with your favorite milk and you have one hearty, filling, and nutritious cereal!  This past Fall I found that I really enjoyed the combination of allspice, cinnamon and black pepper.  There is a certain depth to it that really makes a recipe, what’s the word I am looking for… grounded?  earthy?  savory?  With those flavors rolling around, mixing it up with the sweetness of the dried fruits, well I just find it a wonderful balance that makes your taste buds come alive.

This recipe is hearty, filling, comforting, crunchy but chewy.  I love the complexity of it.  I developed this treat for my dad who is a long haul truck driver.  He needs foods that can keep in the semi, and don’t require much fuss.  It also needs to sustain him and I want it to nourish his body. Mission accomplished!   I can picture him already, bouncing down the highway, a bag of these in his lap, munching away and, knowing him, savoring each little morsel.  It is such a joy to prepare foods for loved ones.

 

Ingredients: yields 7 cups batter

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds, soaked
• 1 cup raw pecans, soaked
• 3/4 cup raw walnuts, soaked
• 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups rolled, gluten-free oats, soaked & dehydrated
• 1 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened

• 1 cup raw  pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, soaked

Preparation:

1. In a medium-sized bowl add the dried cranberries, apricots, and figs enough hot water to cover so they can rehydrate a bit.  Set aside
2. Place the almonds, pecans, and walnuts into the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, and chop to a medium size.  We want crunch so don’t go to small.
3. Add the cacao, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, salt, oats and coconut flakes.  Pulse together.  Pour into a large bowl.
4. Drain the soaking dried fruit and place the fruit into the food processor.  Add the agave and pulse together several times.  Break down the fruit but don’t over process making a puree out of it.  Pour this mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.  Add the raw pumpkin seeds as well.  With your hands, massage everything together.
5. Drop the batter onto the reflex sheet that comes with the dehydrator and dehydrate at 145 degrees 1 hours hour, reduce the temp to 105 degrees for an additional 6 hours or until desired dryness is achieved.
6. Store in a sealed container.

Posted on Sunday, December 23rd, 2012 at 2:50 pm. Filed under: Breakfast, Snacks Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, sugar-free, Vegan RSS 2.0 feed.