Healthy Tropical Oat Bars for the Afternoon

Healthy Tropical Oat Bars for the Afternoon is filed under Breakfast and built around dried apricots, rolled oats ground in a food processor, and ground flaxseed. Plan on 16 Bars.

Count on 30 minutes of prep, 25 minutes of cooking, about 55 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 1 cup dried apricots
• 2 ½ cups rolled oats ground in a food processor
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup pecans toasted, chopped
• ¾ cup pecans toasted, ground in the food processor
• ¼ cup macadamia nuts finely chopped
• ¾ cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup dried pineapple chopped
• ½ cup golden raisins chopped
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 2 tablespoon honey I use wildflower
• ¼ cup reserved apricot cooking liquid

How the cooking goes

1. Heat your oven to 350°. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with baking paper.
2. Set dried apricots in a small saucepan and cover with water until the water is approximately ½ inch above the fruit. Place over a lively flame just until it comes to a low boil, turn down the heat to a low-simmer and simmer until plump. You let mine simmer for at least 30 minutes, but 20 will be okay. Because of the long simmer time, you start the apricots before you begin measuring or chopping any other ingredient.
3. Place all other ingredients through raisins in a large mixing bowl.
4. Set plump apricots in the bowl of a food processor, reserving the cooking liquid. Process the apricots until completely smooth, adding some reserved cooking liquid if necessary. The liquid will help them puree.
5. Put the puree, coconut oil and honey to the large bowl and mix with a large wooden spoon. If needed add some of the reserved cooking liquid. In the 3 test batches you made, you needed about ¼ cup additional liquid. You want the “batter” to be cohesive but not extremely sticky or wet.
6. Press into the prepared pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
7. Allow it to cool and then cut into bars.

After it comes off the heat

Give the plate the rest the method asks for. Cover leftovers and refrigerate them when the dish includes meat, eggs, or dairy.

If you want another plate from Breakfast, open Strawberry Banana Spinach Smoothie for the Home Table and Bircher Muesli – The Original Overnight Oats! for a Slow Morning.