Date Oatmeal Breakfast Squares

These are really delicious breakfast squares made with date syrup. They are moist but not overly sweet. They are not low in sugar since the dates have a fair amount of sugar but the trade off is the amount of fiber from the dates, oats, oat bran and flax meal. I got 12 squares and each square is a breakfast for me.

1 cup melted butter

¾ cup pitted dates (about 9 large Medjool dates)

1/2 cup brown Coconut sugar

½ cup boiling water

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

½ cup oat bran

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup flax meal

½ cup unsweetened no fat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons Arrowroot flour

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored

Juice from 1 lemon

Instructions

1.      Line 8X8 inch baking tin with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides.

2.      Melt butter. Set aside to cool

3.      Pour boiling water over the dates, sugar and molasses and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Blend to make a syrup

4.      In a large bowl, mix the flours, oats, oat bran, baking soda, salt, flax meal, and cinnamon.

5.      Peel and core the granny smith apple and cut into large chunks. Put in a food processor with the lemon juice. Add the date mixture, melted butter and process to a paste.

6.      Whisk the eggs, vanilla and yogurt together. Add the date syrup paste.

7.      Mix wet and dry ingredients together then spread mixture in a parchment lined 8x8 inch baking dish. Bake in a 350° oven for 40-50 minutes until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cut into squares when cool.

Kinda like but better Starbucks Oat Bars

These bars are my version of the kinds that are sold at Starbucks. They are not very sweet, and although I could have made them sweeter, that would have defeated the purpose of them being "healthy". If more sweetness is desired, one could spread them with a favorite jelly or jam. However, they are packed full of oats and oat bran and that was the desired objective.

1 cups Oat Bran

2 ½ cup Old Fashioned Oats

2 tablespoons Arrowroot Flour

½ cup butter

½ cup Coconut Sugar

¼ cup Maple Syrup

1/3 cup half and half

1 egg

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1.      Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2.      Mix together the arrowroot flour, salt, oats and oat bran

3.      Melt the butter, sugar, half and half, and syrup together until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture thickens

4.      Whisk the egg slightly.

5.      Add the whisked egg, and mix the wet and dry ingredients together to for a “dough”.

6.      Press firmly into the pan lined with parchment paper, letting the paper overhang around the edges. Smooth the top with a spatula as though you are spreading frosting on a cake.

7.      Bake 20 minutes until the edges are browned and the mixture has taken on a golden color.

8.      Cool then cut into bars.

Oatmeal Flax Breakfast Squares

I'm going through a phase of developing a series of Oatmeal Breakfast Squares that I can "grab and go" for a quick breakfast or a nice treat for a coffee break. This recipe is full of oatmeal, oat bran and flax. They are very thick (a lot of batter for the 8x8 pan), very dense, and very filling. I wont say they are 100% healthy but might be somewhere in the middle. They certainly are 100% delicious!

    1 cup melted butter

    1/2 cup maple syrup

    1 tablespoon molasses

    1/4 cup brown sugar

    2 eggs

    1 teaspoon baking soda

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

     ½ cup oat bran

    1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

    ½ cup flax meal

    ½ cup Greek Style yogurt

    ½ cup half and half (or buttermilk)

    1 teaspoon vinegar (omit if using Buttermilk)

    2 tablespoons Arrowroot Flour

    1/2 large, tart apple, peeled, cored and finely grated

    In a large saucepan, melt together the butter, molasses, sugar, and maple syrup. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Mix in the grated apple and set aside to cool. Whisk eggs, yogurt, half and half (or buttermilk), and vanilla, mixing well. Add the cooled butter mixture the oats, oat bran, flax meal, cinnamon, flours, baking soda, salt and flour and mix until well combined.

  Spread mixture in a parchment lined 8x8 inch baking dish. Make sure the parchment paper overhangs on all sides. Bake in a 350° oven for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and a tester inserted comes out clean. The finished product should be firm to touch. Cut into 9 squares when cool.