Fruit & Oatmeal Bars

Well we've not posted to this blog for a while ... life has a way of going in unexpected directions at times.  I decided that since I was going to be baking these today that I may as well throw up a blog post about them for everyone to share / enjoy.

How many times have you seen a recipe on an image shared on social media?  How many times have you wondered if it actually turns out well or not?  This recipe started out just that way, but in the form of cookies.  I'm not one that likes to drop cookies though.  I prefer to slice my baked goods into whatever size I prefer once it's done.  I've experimented with it in various ways since - there's a lot of room with this one for personalize it to your own tastes or ingredients available.

The original recipe is designed to be dairy free, gluten free, etc etc etc ... simply put, it's suitable for pretty much anyone!

Ingredients:

3 ripe mashed bananas
2 cups oats
1/2 cup raisins (though I tend to use more)
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup almond milk (whole or 2% milk will work fine too)
1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you prefer - like I do)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Preparation:

Start with the bananas, applesauce, milk, cinnamon, raisins, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mash the bananas with a hand masher, mixing the ingredients in the process. Once the bananas are thoroughly mashed, pour in your oats and mix well.  Spread your oat mixture evenly across a glass baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes at 375 degrees.  Once removed from the oven, slice the bars and let cool for a few minutes.  Remove with a spatula and serve.

When finished you get an interesting mix of fruit and oats with a firm almost crunchy texture on top and a chewy texture on the bottom.  I think of them as my zero guilt way to snack on something awesome ... which is good because these don't have a tendency to last very long once they're done!