Description
Soft, fruity and lightly spiced, these breakfast bars are made with tea soaked dried fruit, banana and a little almond butter. They bake up more like a tender breakfast cake at first, then a short drying step turns them into sturdier bars that are much easier to grab and go.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups steel-cut oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan salt
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond soy milk
- 4 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 rooibos tea bag
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup candied ginger, finely chopped, optional
- 1 medium banana, quartered lengthwise and diced
Instructions
- Put 1 cup mixed dried fruit in a bowl. Pour over 1 cup of boiling water and add 1 rooibos tea bag. Let the fruit soak for 30 minutes, then remove the tea bag and drain off any excess tea. Give the fruit a good drain because extra liquid will make the bars wetter than they need to be.
- Heat the oven to 375⁰F (190⁰C). Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch square baking pan or glass baking dish. If your dish tends to stick, line it with parchment as well.
- Add 2 cups steel-cut oats, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan salt to a blender or food processor.
- Pulse a few times to break down the steel-cut oats slightly. You don’t need to turn them into a fine flour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond soy milk, 4 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 large egg and 1 tsp vanilla essence until well combined.
- Add the oat and flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is combined. The batter will be quite wet and loose at this point, and that’s expected.
- Add the drained 1 cup mixed dried fruit and 1/4 to 1/2 cup candied ginger, if using. Stir gently so the fruit is spread throughout the batter.
- Fold in 1 medium banana, quartered lengthwise and diced, then spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake at 375⁰F (190⁰C) for about 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Because the fruit and banana add moisture, don’t judge doneness by the colour alone.
- Let the baked mixture cool in the pan until it’s firm enough to handle, then cut into 12 bars.
- For firmer breakfast bars, place the cut bars on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return them to the oven at 200⁰F (95⁰C) for 45 to 60 minutes.
- Turn the bars once halfway through, so they dry more evenly. This extra step is worth doing if you want a bar rather than something closer to breakfast cake.
- Cool the bars completely before storing them. They’ll firm up more as they cool.
Notes
Prepared, tried, and tested by Esme Slabs: SA Tasty Recipes – Saffas Daily Recipes and EsmeSalon Homemade Recipes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 137
- Sugar: 9.5 g
- Sodium: 64.4 mg
- Fat: 2.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.7 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 12.4 mg
