Recipe: Apricot-Almond Breakfast Bars

Granola’s great, but it can be messy and sticky, especially in the car or on a hike. The solution: these moist, chewy breakfast bars, courtesy of Simmer + Sauce food blogger Andrea Potischman. Potischman developed the recipe when she and her kids were home with the flu and much too exhausted to remember to eat breakfast. These tasty bars are packed with toasted, whole-grain oats, cashew butter and good-for-you dates. Store them in an airtight container, and they last for weeks.

Apricot-Almond Breakfast Bars

Makes approximately 9 bars

INGREDIENTS

2¼ cups whole grain oats

1/3 cup raw almonds

2 tablespoons almond flour

2 tablespoons maca powder

Dash of salt

Dash of cinnamon

1/3 cup nut butter, such as cashew butter, slightly warmed

2 tablespoons unflavored coconut oil, melted

¼ cup local honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons nut milk, such as almond

1/3 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

4 dates, pitted and roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. (Note: The best way to do this is to cut two strips and overlap them, allowing some extra for overhang.) Lightly oil and set aside.

Place the oats on 3/4 of a baking sheet and the almonds on the remainder of the pan. Place in the oven and lightly toast until slightly fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Once cool enough to handle, place the oats in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Place the almonds on a cutting board and roughly chop them. Add the almonds to the oats.

Add the almond flour, maca powder, salt, cinnamon, nut butter, coconut oil, honey, vanilla and almond milk. Using a large rubber spatula, mix well to incorporate. Fold in the apricots and dates.

Pour the mixture into the prepared square baking pan. Using a small glass or glass jar, press down on the mixture to evenly flatten. Place in the oven and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Store the breakfast bars in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.

— Courtesy of Andrea Potischman