Breakfast Bars With Oats and Coconut
Published March 9, 2021
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist:Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling and at least 6 hours’ chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
¾ cup/180 milliliters smooth almond butter, at room temperature
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
⅓ cup/73 grams light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
1 large egg, beaten, at room temperature
1 egg white, at room temperature
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ⅔ cups/146 grams rolled oats
¾ teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup/28 grams unsweetened coconut flakes
¼ cup/37 grams dried cherries (or another soft, plump dried fruit)
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons shelled sunflower seeds
1 ½ tablespoons flax seeds
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
Nutritional analysis per serving
20 grams carbs; 15 milligrams cholesterol; 189 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 98 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 12 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer and a large bowl, cream almond butter, granulated and brown sugars, and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add egg, egg white, salt and vanilla, and mix until well incorporated, occasionally scraping the side and bottom of bowl, about 1 minute longer.
- Step 2
Put oats in a small bowl, sift the baking soda over them, and beat into almond butter mixture. With the mixer on low speed, stir in coconut flakes, cherries and seeds until thoroughly mixed. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface of the dough (still in the bowl) and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 2 days. (This allows the oats to hydrate.)
- Step 3
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a metal 9-inch square baking pan with butter and line it with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches to hang over 2 sides of the pan and use as handles later. Grease the parchment paper as well.
- Step 4
Scrape dough into the prepared baking pan. Lightly grease a large spatula and firmly press the mixture into the pan in an even layer. Bake until the surface is light golden brown and firm, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Step 5
Transfer to a rack and allow bars to cool completely in the pan. Once cooled, use a butter knife or small offset spatula to cut along the inside edges of the pan and release the bars. Using the parchment paper overhang, lift bars out of the pan and place them on a cutting board. Cut into 18 bars. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
To make these into cookies rather than bars, drop ¼-cup measures of the dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake until golden at the edges, 10 to 15 minutes.
Private Notes
Comments
I have to chuckle when I see recommendations to make a dish healthier by swapping out granulated sugar for maple syrup, agave syrup, honey, and the like. Your body won't know the difference. Sugar is sugar, regardless of the form it takes, and we eat far too much of it. In my experience, you can cut the sugar (in whatever form) in NYTimes recipes by half and they are still plenty sweet.
My experience with baking in general: most dessert recipes are too sweet for our taste. Certain things — where the sugar does not seem to be essential to the chemical reactions inherent in baking — can be made with 1/2 the sugar just omitted with no substitute. This seems to be one of those recipes.
I make a similar recipe frequently and and for sweetener use ~1Tbsp of honey plus 6 dates lightly softened in water then pureed in the food processor. With that extra moisture you might need to cut back on the nut butter a bit, or perhaps add some chia seeds to gel up the dough. The inclusion of vanilla helps it seem sweeter since we associate that flavor with baked treats — I like to also put in some cinnamon and orange zest for a similar affect.
These are fantastic! I lessened slightly the sugar bc of all the bad press in the comments but I think the amount in the recipe would be fine. These bars are a welcome treat that's sweet and filling w the coconut, oats and seeds. I had to add some applesauce to stretch the almond butter and didn't realize I had to wait for hours before baking bc I didn't read the instructions through but the substitution turned out find and the wait was well worth it! I'll make these again.
In step 2, instead of leaving the dough in the mixing bowl, place the dough into the prepared pan as in step 4, cover with plastic and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Much easier to spread the dough while it's still at room temperature. This is a very forgiving recipe that allows for substitutions and changes. I make them about once per month and have used more brown sugar than white, added mini chocolate chips, nuts and dates, and once an over-ripe mashed banana,
I made these with 75 grams of brown sugar and 25 grams white which is perfect for a not too sweet breakfast on the go. Full sugar would be suitable for a cookie or if you just prefer sweeter bars. I don’t think these would be overly sweet. I was surprised by how tender and blondie-like these came out. I used ground flax seeds and let the batter sit for over 24 hours before baking. These are staying my rotation because they are filling and taste good. So much better than store bought breakfast bars!