At last, here’s a crunchy breakfast bar made with simply oats, raisins, and dried apples and flavored with maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. This vegan and wheat-free (gluten-free if the oats are gluten-free) breakfast bar was developed by Moosewood cook Nancy Lazarus for the Cool School Food program in the Ithaca School District. There are hundreds of recipes (or more) for breakfast bars on the Internet, and Nancy read scores of recipes looking in vain for clues to the trick for making vegan and gluten-free bars that are crisp, not gooey, not crumbly. After experimenting with more baking sheets of oat bars than she could find people to give them to, she came up with this maple syrup and raisin purée to hold them together, and found that toasting the oats before mixing them with the liquid makes the texture of the bars crisp and crunchy.
The recipe makes enough for a standard half sheet pan (18 x 12 inches), but you can use a couple of smaller-sized baking sheets that combined are about 200 square inches. Also, the recipe is easily cut in half.
Yields 24 bars (about 4 x 2 inches each)
Prep time: 35 minutes
Baking time: 15 to 20 minutes
8 cups rolled oats
½ cup vegetable oil
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups pure maple syrup
1½ cups raisins (best at room temperature)
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2½ cups dried apple pieces (½ inch or smaller)
1 cup salted toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
Preheat the oven to 375ºF convection, or 400°F conventional.
Put the oats into a bowl, sprinkle with the oil, and stir well to coat evenly. Spread on a sheet pan and sprinkle with the salt. Toast for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once, until the oats darken somewhat in color.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, purée the maple syrup, raisins, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth.
In a large bowl, mix together the toasted oats (warm from the oven or cool), maple-raisin purée, dried apple pieces, and pepitas.
Line a half sheet pan, or a couple of smaller baking sheets or pans (see headnote), with parchment paper. Spread the mixture on the baking pan and tamp it down with the back of a spoon to press out any air pockets. Smooth the top and tidy up the edges. Bake for 15 minutes in a convection oven, or a little longer in a conventional oven.
Cool for about 5 minutes and then cut into 24 pieces. If the edges crumble, tamp down while still warm. Cool in the pan. Slice through the cuts again before removing the bars from the pan. Lift the parchment paper to remove them from the pan easily.
• Add about a cup of chopped nuts.
• In place of dried apples, use dried cranberries or cherries (whole or chopped) or chopped dried figs or apricots.
These breakfast bars are dense, crisp, and naturally sweet. You’ll want a beverage to complete your breakfast. A cup of tea will do, or try one of our smoothies, all different. Jenny’s Best Breakfast Smoothie is as nutrient-rich as the breakfast bars. The Sweet Fruit Smoothies come in red, yellow, or orange versions and are just as they promise—fruity, sweet, and smooth. The Peppery Green Smoothie, No Pepper is hot and sweet and unusual, containing mustard greens.