#2,782: Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal Bars

The picture of this does not do this recipe justice.  I first gave my kids a piece after dinner to see if they liked it...they all asked for a second piece.  They also ate it for breakfast the next day and then asked me to make it again.  Uh, sure! It is SO simple to throw together and if you don't have oat flour, just throw some old fashioned oat in your food processor and pulse it a little.  It's also a great way to use up those over-ripe bananas too! The original recipe says to pour more peanut butter over the top, but I didn't do that...and my kids didn't seem to care! 

1 ½ cups quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 overripe bananas mashed

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup pure maple syrup (I used honey)

1 large egg lightly beaten
¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I used skim milk)

Mini Chocolate chips (about 1/3 cup)

Topping:
¼ cup creamy peanut butter melted ( I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9” square baking pan and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the quick cooking oats, baking powder, sea salt and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix mashed banana and peanut butter together until combined.  Add in the vanilla extract, maple syrup (I used honey) and egg. Mix until combined.  Add the almond milk and mini chocolate chips, and stir until batter is mixed.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8x8 cake/baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Or until the top slightly springs back when touched and the edges are just barely brown!

I skipped this step: Melt the extra peanut butter and drizzle on top.

Cut into squares and store in refrigerator.  Reheat in microwave or enjoy cold!