Miss Alice made her version of this week’s recipe using steel cut oats, dried cranberries, peanut butter and maple syrup. “I’d recommend using rolled or quick oats instead of steel cut oats. My oat & fruit bars turned out a bit crumbly & more granola-like, but they were still delicious & made a great topping for yogurt!”
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ½ cups oats (rolled or quick oats)
- ½ cup peanut butter
- Substitutions: sunflower seed butter, any other nut butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- Substitutions: maple syrup, agave nectar
- ¾ cup chopped almonds
- Substitutions: sunflower seeds, any other nuts
- 1 cup chopped dried cherries
- Substitutes: dates, raisins, dried apricots, any other dried fruit
- Ideas for optional additions: banana chips, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, vanilla
PROCESS:
- Line an 8”x8” baking dish with parchment paper or plastic wrap.
- Mix oats, almonds, dried fruit, and any additional ingredients in a large bowl, then set aside.
- Warm the honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly.
- Pour honey and peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Transfer mixture to the 8”x8” baking dish.
- Firmly press down the mixture until it is uniformly flattened. Don’t be afraid to really pack down the mixture–it will help the bars hold their shape!
- Cover the bars with parchment or plastic wrap and put in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Once firm, lift bars out of the pan and use a sharp knife to cut into 9 even squares.
