Description
These Maple Cranberry Morning Bars are a wholesome, delicious snack perfect for starting your day or fueling your afternoon. Made with rolled oats, pecans, dried cranberries, almond butter, and sweetened naturally with pure maple syrup, they offer a chewy texture with a touch of tartness and warmth from cinnamon. Gluten-free when using certified oats and multigrain cereal, these bars are nutritious and easy to prepare, requiring just baking and stovetop cooking.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1/2 cup multigrain hot cereal (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 cup natural unsweetened almond butter
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray to ensure easy removal of the bars.
- Toast oats and pecans: Spread the oats and chopped pecans evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through baking to ensure even toasting. Remove when golden and fragrant.
- Combine with cranberries: Transfer the toasted oats and pecans to a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped dried cranberries and stir to combine.
- Cook multigrain cereal: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the almond milk to a boil. Stir in the multigrain hot cereal and remove from heat. Let the mixture stand for 2 minutes to thicken slightly.
- Make almond butter syrup: To the warm cereal mixture, add the almond butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and sea salt. Cook and stir over low heat for 6 to 7 minutes until the mixture is thickened and well blended. Remove from heat and stir in the pure vanilla extract.
- Combine all mixtures: Immediately pour the hot almond butter mixture into the bowl containing oats, pecans, and cranberries. Use a spatula to mix thoroughly until everything is evenly coated.
- Press into baking pan: Transfer the combined mixture to the prepared baking pan. Use the back of a measuring cup or a piece of parchment/wax paper to spread, flatten, and firmly compact the bars evenly in the pan.
- Cool and set: Allow the bars to cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm and set.
- Slice and serve: Using the foil or parchment liner, lift the firm block of bars out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Peel off the liner and cut into 16 equal bars.
Notes
- This recipe is slightly adapted from the Power Hungry: Ultimate Energy Cookbook.
- Use gluten-free oats and multigrain cereal to make the bars gluten-free friendly.
- For firmer bars, refrigeration time can be extended up to several hours or overnight.
- Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge up to one week, or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 55mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
