AIP Blueberry Tigernut Bars

I love blueberry anything.  And, I absolutely love the nutritious, versatile tigernut–specifically tigernut flour.  I decided to experiment with my basic tigernut bar recipe and came up with these.  These bars taste like blueberry muffins ! Due to the natural nutty sweetness of the tigernut flour and blueberries, I added no sugars.  I wanted to create something delicious that didn’t have any added sugar whatsoever, as I chose to stop eating all sugars a few months back.  These are a go-to for my breakfast with a quality protein.  I also individually wrapped bars and took them on vacation, with them traveling well on an airplane.  They also freeze well!  I’ve taken the pan of bars to get-togethers with friends, and they are gobbled up by non-Paleo people!  Also, my good friend’s 10 year old child loved them and asks her mother to make them.  So, kid-tested and approved!

Paleo/AIP Blueberry Tigernut Bars
By Healthy Awakening Holistic Health Coaching, Susan Robbins

Dry Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup Tigernut flour, sifted or whisked  I use this
¼ teaspoon Pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
¼ cup EVOO, coconut oil (melted) or avocado oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (I used Native Forest Simple)
½ teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 T grass-fed gelatin (OR 1 EGG, if you eat eggs!)
1 cup fresh organic blueberries

Instructions:
Sift the tigernut flour with the baking soda. Then, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Make sure any lumps in the flour are gone.  Add oil, vanilla, and coconut milk. Stir until well combined.
Add apple cider vinegar. Mix well.
Fold in HALF of the blueberries, reserving the other half.
Grease a baking dish (I used a Pyrex 9×7 dish) with some coconut oil. Add the dough and press it out lightly until even. It should not be too thick or thin and spread nicely. If you have reserved half of the berries, pour them on top, spreading them out evenly, press lightly down into the batter. I use the bottom of the measuring cup to lightly press in the blueberries.

Baking: Bake at 375 for 55 minutes or until the center is cooked. Inserted knife will come out dry. They may seem a bit soft in the middle, but they will firm up. Let the pan cool down when finished, then put into the refrigerator. Cool completely in the refrigerator. They will be firm and cut very nicely. Enjoy!

For more great AIP-compliant recipes, check out Phoenix Helix!

Additional Options to Add: 

Cinnamon:  You can leave the cinnamon out of the batter and sprinkle on top before baking.  Gives a real “coffee cake” like taste!

Using the gelatin DRY:  You do not make the gelatin egg.  Add an additional ¼ cup of the coconut milk, mix all ingredients other than the gelatin and blueberries well.  Add 1T of gelatin, dry.  Mix well, then add the berries.  I like this better and the texture better.  Less work, too!  😊

Fruit options:  I’ve made with peeled, chopped peaches, blackberries, raspberries (they mash up as you mix, but are great,) combinations of berries.  All work with this recipe!