Confessions of a Food Junkie

Today I was cleaning up all of the junk I have accumulated on my desk.  It was a lot.  A lot.  I'm a notorious pack rat (don't worry, you won't see me on an episode of "Hoarders").  When I came across a pile of recipes, I wasn't surprised.  Some were torn out of magazines, some were still in magazines, some were printed off the computer, and others were handwritten.  This recipe was one of the handwritten ones. Like most of my recipes, this is a no fuss, small mess, quick and easy bar recipe that uses mostly ingredients you'd have on hand.  I have tweeked it to my (and my family's) liking.  For example, I added the peanut butter and replaced the 1/2 cup of nuts with the seeds.

I just took it out of the oven and it's not yet cool enough to cut, but I'm dying to dive in.  I can't wait for my daughter to get home from school...I hope she loves them.  I'm no nutritionist, but I think as far as after-school-snacks/cookies/bars go, it's fairly healthful.  I can't see how she won't like them, they smell heavenly.  Keep your fingers crossed...

Ready to go into the oven!

Couldn't resist, had to take a bite.

 

I drizzled with honey for aesthetic purposes...then I had to eat it.  Darn!



2 c oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp apple pie spice
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c milk
1/4 c honey
1/2 c chunky applesauce
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c dried fruit (I used dried apple)
1 c raisins
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp flax seeds
3 Tbsp natural peanut butter (I used Naturally More)

Preheat oven to 375.

Place first 6 ingredients in a bowl, mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix the milk, applesauce, egg, honey and vanilla.

Combine the two mixtures.  Stir in the fruit and seeds.  Spread into a sprayed 11 x 7 baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and golden.  Cool completely before cutting.