Breakfast bar recipes?

[pampered_mom]

My dh doesn't eat breakfast - unless we have something at home that he can grab quick and take with him (like a bagel or something like that). I was thinking of something along the lines of baked oatmeal, but more of a cakey/muffin type texture so that it really could be grab and go. I don't have a large enough muffin pan (only large enough to bake six at a time) so I'd prefer a bar.

Oh...and I'd like to be able to make it with what I've got on hand. I've got oatmeal, ww pastry flour, buttermilk, eggs, butter, coconut oil, raisins, crispy walnuts, spices, etc. Any suggestions?

[thedomesticdiva]

I have been baking soaked (and rinsed) steel cut oats with 2 eggs, 1 cup of kefir, a glob of coconut oil, 1/4 stick butter, some fruit and 1 piloncillo (like rapadura) and a little salt - The first one I made was "banana bread", and my boys loved it - the next one I made was blueberry and it was delicious but I had no eggs, so it was more the consistency of the baked oatmeal recipe.:

I soak a huge bowl of oatmeal and make half of it on the stovetop, then use the other half for the bread. The idea is so that I can take a break the next morning, but they usually eat the whole loaf by then - the little stinkers - but it is healthy so I let them

[guestmama9904]

yummy domestic diva! im gonna try that. my dh too, does not eat breakfast on workdays unless I make a smoothie. maybe he will eat this bread!

[thedomesticdiva]

Thanks arismama,

My favorite thing to do right now is to serve it steaming hot (fresh out of the oven) with unsweetened kefir on top w/ a sprinkle of sugar - It is almost like a bread pudding - or my son this morning said it tasted like blackberry cobbler.

If you let it cool completely in the fridge - it gets more solid and would be more of a to-go breakfast.

My favorite steel-cut oatmeal is Country Choice brand because it is the crunchiest.

[elleystar]

This sounds wonderful!
About how many cups of oats go in that, would you say?

[pampered_mom]

I haven't had very good luck with steel cut oats in a recipe like that w/out something else added that was more flour like. It always seems to end up too crumbly to travel. I must not be doing something right.

Here's what I ended up making up (I really wanted to get something made):

1 1/2 c ww pastry flour
1 3/4 c steel cut oats
1 1/2 c whole milk buttermilk

Grind 1 1/4 c of the steel cut oats (I just used a food processor) until it's more of a coarse flour consistency. Mix that with the flour, remaining oats, and the buttermilk. Allow to soak for 12-24 hours.

Add to the above:
1/2 c honey
1/2 c coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c dried fruit

Spread in a 13x9-inch pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min. Cool, cut and store tightly covered.

They were compact, dense bars with just the right sweetness. Dh loved them and is already dreaming of future additions. All of the recipes I found online were high sugar, low fat so I ended up taking a few recipes and mushing them together with some higher fat substitutions.

[quietserena]

I was just coming over here to suggest baked oatmeal... (gardenmommy's recipe rocks)

[thedomesticdiva]

2 to 2 1/2 cups steel cut

[stilllearning85]

Originally Posted by thedomesticdiva

I have been baking soaked (and rinsed) steel cut oats with 2 eggs, 1 cup of kefir, a glob of coconut oil, 1/4 stick butter, some fruit and 1 piloncillo (like rapadura) and a little salt - The first one I made was "banana bread", and my boys loved it - the next one I made was blueberry and it was delicious but I had no eggs, so it was more the consistency of the baked oatmeal recipe.:

I soak a huge bowl of oatmeal and make half of it on the stovetop, then use the other half for the bread. The idea is so that I can take a break the next morning, but they usually eat the whole loaf by then - the little stinkers - but it is healthy so I let them

Ooooh! I am gonna have to try this! Do you do it in a loaf pan? What temp and for how long? Excuse the absolute unknowingness in my cooking skills...

[guestmama9904]

yum, i just made my own attempts at this type of recipe and could not even wait until breakfast to try!
here's what I did;

soak 2 C oats in some water and yogurt whey for 8 hours
mix soaked and unrinsed oats with 1 banana, 1 cut up apple, 1/4 c chopped dates, some sucanat (maybe a handful), about 1 c shredded coconut, 1 stick butter, 1 egg, and though not totally TF I did need to add 2 tbls white flour to thicken it up a bit. then i put this in a loaf pan and sprinkled a small tablespoon of sugar ontop to get that carmely thing goin and baked it at 350 in my gas oven for about 1+ hour, maybe it was more.

so good!

[Woodland]

mmm im going to try this. It would be great to make on a monday and have for a few mornings.

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by quietserena

I was just coming over here to suggest baked oatmeal... (gardenmommy's recipe rocks)

Mine always ends up much too crumbly...hmm...

[thedomesticdiva]

I found that by adding one more egg if it was too crumbly, that it would make it more solid (dense) - also to let it cool completely in the fridge if you truly want it to be solid...

Of course my little ones will not let it cool :

[gardenmommy]

Originally Posted by quietserena

I was just coming over here to suggest baked oatmeal... (gardenmommy's recipe rocks)

Hey, thanks. It is really cool to see how many people are loving that recipe! I haven't made it in forever, as we are pretty much grain-free at the moment. I've been thinking about making it for the DC though, as it is an easy breakfast.

[kjbrown92]

I'm really excited to try the Breakfast Bars, but I'll have to do some subbing because of food intolerances. Would dried banana be too big as a dried fruit in this? It's the only fruit DD can have. And I'll have to soak my flour/oats in something else - maybe coconut milk yogurt? And sub some GF flour for the whole wheat, and figure out something else for the eggs (maybe some flax). Gee, is this the same recipe? It's a basis anyway. Thanks!!

[Theloose]

flapjacks! as in the ones from england!

I still haven't mastered them, but the basic recipe is oats, fat and sweet (butter and golden syrup). Press into pan, bake. Higher temp supposedly makes them crispy, while a lower temp makes them chewy. Last time I made them (pre-NT), I was experimenting with adding a little water - that made them softer, and closer to the brand we remember loving.

I'm thinking of something like this next time:
soak rolled oats with as little water as possible, and a little buckwheat (for phytase)
melt coconut oil (or lard?) with honey, then add oats to make the right consistency - something compressible. Cook a little on the stovetop if it seems like it needs it.
mix in any mixins (dried fruit, nuts, whatever)
bake at a low temp - 325 or so
top with toppers (our fave in england was caramel and chocolate, mmm...)

[quietserena]

Originally Posted by pampered_mom

Mine always ends up much too crumbly...hmm...

Definitely more eggs. Perhaps more liquid too - mine always had at least a cup of extra liquid after the soaking. More custardy that way too.

Also, letting it ferment on the counter and not in the fridge. I made that mistake once or twice when I first started making it.

Originally Posted by gardenmommy

Hey, thanks. It is really cool to see how many people are loving that recipe! I haven't made it in forever, as we are pretty much grain-free at the moment. I've been thinking about making it for the DC though, as it is an easy breakfast.

I miss it too. Trying the GF diet and oats are sorta iffy with that. Found some GF ones but they're.. prohibitively spendy. Thanks for the recipe!

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

I'm really excited to try the Breakfast Bars, but I'll have to do some subbing because of food intolerances. Would dried banana be too big as a dried fruit in this? It's the only fruit DD can have. And I'll have to soak my flour/oats in something else - maybe coconut milk yogurt? And sub some GF flour for the whole wheat, and figure out something else for the eggs (maybe some flax). Gee, is this the same recipe? It's a basis anyway. Thanks!!

I would go hog wild on the substitutions - I don't see why your substitutions wouldn't work. Let me know how it turns out.

Originally Posted by quietserena

Definitely more eggs. Perhaps more liquid too - mine always had at least a cup of extra liquid after the soaking. More custardy that way too.

Also, letting it ferment on the counter and not in the fridge. I made that mistake once or twice when I first started making it.

Yeah...I've never soaked my flours/grains in the fridge b/c my understanding was that temperature was most definitely an issue. I'll have to try adding another egg and more liquid next time I make it.