Cranberry & Date Oat Bars

These bars are a halfway stop between dessert and breakfast. Just sweet enough that you are thinking soft granola bar, yet solid enough that they power you through breakfast and to lunch (even through an hour-long workout I might add!).

Oats, flax, cranberries, dates, peanut butter? Delicious! The recipe is open-ended, use what dried fruit you have on hand, and your favorite nut or seed butter.

Cranberry & Date Oat Bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup Dried Cranberries
• ½ cup Date Crumbles
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup natural peanut butter, smooth or chunky
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp juice (used mango nectar)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, lightly grease an 8×8″ glass baking pan with coconut oil, line parchment paper.

Mix oats through salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl, add to dry, stir till mixed.

Spread in prepared pan, pack tightly down with hands. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm on top. Take out, pop out parchment paper, set on cooling rack, gently pulling back on the paper to expose the edges. Let cool, then cut into 9 squares.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze wrapped for later eating.

Makes 9 squares.

~Sarah